Star Fox X
by Timeless Dreamer Neo
Summary: Old enemies return to the Lylat system, but help arrives. Who are these mysterious mercenaries, and what are their goals? Starfox and multiple crossovers. R
1. Cast list

Disclaimer: I do not own any series featured in this fanfic, other than the original characters

Starfox X

Cast list

Starfox X (primary members)

Marcus Mccloud

Position: Leader, Pilot

Species: Lylatian, G.E.N.E  
Gender: Male  
Age: 18  
Family: Fox Mccloud (Father), Krystal Mccloud (Mother)

Appearance: Marcus's appearance is the spitting image of his father, with the only difference being his blue fur, which he inherited from his mother.

Attire: Marcus's attire consist of a silver flight jacket, with an indigo suit underneath, a pair of silver and blue gloves with spade symbols on the back of both of them, topped up with boots, and a belt with a blue colored spade in the middle.  
History: Although he is identified as a Lylatian, Marcus was born in Traverse Town, one of "The Guardians" main headquarters. Before his birth, Marcus's parents, Fox and Krystal Mccloud, wanting their child to grow up strong, and worried of his possible future, volunteered for "Project G.E.N.E". As a result, Marcus grew up, a strong young fox. Inspired by stories of his parents past adventures in the original "Starfox" team, he and several friends of his eventually decided to form a new "Starfox", which they modified, to form the new starfox, "Starfox X"  
Natural Abilities: Telepathy, outstanding piloting skills, adept combat skills.  
GENE abilities: Enhanced strength, speed, agility, and reactions (By enhanced, I mean super human levels)  
Personality: Marcus is strong willed, stubborn, but kind hearted as well. He cares for his team, and looks out for there well being, a trait the entire team follows, as they believe in the old saying "all for one, and one for all"  
Character type: Character from the "Starfox" series

Nia Lumino

Position: Navigator, Pilot  
Species: Darkstalker-Human hybrid, G.E.N.E  
Gender: Female  
Age: 18  
Family: Neo Lumino (Father), Anita Baine (Mother), Nathan Lumino (Older 'brother'), Kelly Lumino (Older 'sister')

Appearance: Nia's appearance is that of a teenaged girl, which resembles her mother, with the differences being she has slightly pale skin (due to her vampiric heritage), light brown eyes, and flowing black hair (all traits she inherited from her father), which she wears in a thin pony tail, which is slightly messy around her head (think Aile's hair style in Megaman ZXA).

Attire: Nia's attire consist of a blue, looser variation of her father's jacket, with a black dress-like suit, with a black colored heart design on the belt around her waist, and on her right sleeve.  
History: Nia was born as a result of the bond shared between Neo Lumino and Anita Baine. To prevent her from being controlled by her ancestor: Xeno Lumino, Her father, Neo Lumino, genetically altered her, so she would be as far as possible from his bloodline, therefore preventing Xeno from ever taking control over her, but just enough so that she could still use his bloodlines powers. One of the efforts put in to alter her DNA, was enrolling her into the early "Project G.E.N.E", therefore making her the first G.E.N.E to exist.  
Natural abilities: Telephathy, Advanced Telekinesis, Light and Dark Manipulation, The Lumino Clan's eyes, copy ability  
GENE abilities: Enhanced awareness (She can literally get a 3-D view of a place or location, just by being nearby it, or by looking at a map, or be able to see her surroundings for Kilometers away)  
Personality: Nia is calm and cool headed in almost any situation, though she has been known to 'snap' at times, especially when it concerns her friends and team mates. Overall, she is kind hearted, and cares for others.  
Character type: OC

Kobayashi Ueki  
Position: Ambush and Stealth attacker, Pilot  
Species: Human-Heavenlybeing hybrid, G.E.N.E  
Gender: Male  
Age: 16  
Family: Kousuke Ueki (Father), Ai Mori (Mother)

Appearance: Kobayashi is the spitting image of his father, right down to the green spiky hair, with the only difference being his blue eyes, which he inherited from his mother. Attire: Kobayashi's attire resembles the white school uniform his father wore during the "Battle Games", with the only difference being the design on the shoulders, which depicts a green club, which is also present on his belt.  
History: Kobayashi's parents, unlike the others, volunteered to join "Project G.E.N.E" to save his life. Being the son of a heavenly being father, and a human mother, Kobayashi had several complications, during his growth inside his mother. To counter the effects, Neo injected a special version of the G.E.N.E serum into Kobayashi, not only to give him a specific ability, but also to stabilize him, therefore ensuring his survival.  
Natural abilities: Sacred treasures, the power to turn trash into trees, the power to make people fall in love with glasses.  
GENE abilities: Increased regeneration, and increased resilience  
Personality: Kobayashi is much like his father, being kind hearted, brave, and loyal to his friends. He often puts others safety ahead of his own. He, like his father, believes in the concept of "justice" very strongly.  
Character type: OC

Wanko Sano  
Position: Strategist, Pilot  
Species: Human, G.E.N.E  
Gender: Male  
Age: 17  
Family: Seichiro Sano (Father), Rinko Gerard (Mother)

Appearance: Wanko is easily a spitting image of his father, but the only real difference is in his hair, which is red, like his mother's hair.

Attire: Wanko's attire resembles his father's attire, being awhite colored robe, with the only difference really being in his head band, which has his rider symbol, a red diamond in the middle.  
History: Interestingly enough, the reason why Wanko's parents volunteered to join "Project G.E.N.E" is unknown, as none of them ever seem to talk about it.  
Natural abilities: the power to towels into steel, the power to turn beads into bombs.  
GENE abilities: Enhanced intelligence, and reaction time.  
Personality: Despite having the brain to be the head strategist of the primary group, Wanko also has a "short fuse", which often easily "ignites". Fortunately, he always thinks 2 steps ahead of the group and has backup plans ready. He is more than willing to risk his neck for his friends, and to protect others.  
Character type: OC

Nathan Lumino (true name: Nova EXE)  
Position: Hacker, Part time ship A.I, occasional pilot, chef (it's a hobby)  
Species: Bio-net navi  
Gender: male  
Age: looks around 19. Actual age: 40 years  
Family: Neo Lumino (Father, creator, genetic donor), Kelly Lumino (younger sister), Nia Lumino (youngest sister)

Appearance: Nathan takes on the appearance of a blond teenager, with his hair in a somewhat neat, yet stylish fashion. He has light brown eyes, with Asian skin.

Attire: Nathan's attire of choice while in human form, is oddly enough, a tuxedo and long pants, which resembles the type usually used by butlers. In his battle mode, his attire becomes a white body suit, with spiky gold armor, around his arms, legs, and torso, and a somewhat streamline helmet on his head, which is equipped with a retractable mouth guard.  
History: Nathan or Nova, as he is usually called, was originally his father's net navi, but has since been passed on to his sister, Nia. Nova, being a program with a biological enhancement, is almost human in most aspects. He joined the "Starfox X" to keep supporting his younger sister.  
Abilities: transferring into cyber world, battle chips, style change, and cross system.  
Personality: Nathan is a calm fighter, but also has a tendency to snap if the situation endangers any of his team mates. He can be very protective of his sisters, much to their annoyance sometimes.  
Character type: OC

Kelly Lumino (true name: Kos-Mos EX)  
Position: weapons specialist, hacker, pilot  
Species: Biomechanical android  
Gender: Female  
Age: looks around 20. Actual age: 38 years  
Family: Neo Lumino (Father, creator, genetic donor), Nathan Lumino (older brother), Nia Lumino (youngest sister)

Appearance: Kelly's physical appearance is nearly indistinguishable from the previous versions of Kos-Mos, with the only thing different being her blue eyes. Another noticeable feature is her lively looking face, which shows how much closer she is to a living being, compared to the original Kos-Mos.

Attire: Kelly's attire while in human form, is a black dress which looks a lot like a maid's uniform (she goes for the conservative type, meaning that it is properly covered up), though she doesn't bother with the hair band. In Battle mode, her armor looks like a stronger version of Kos-Mos version 4's armor, with it being more armored, yet much lighter, which allows her to move much faster. Another thing that should be noted, is despite her body composing of partly machinery, she ways about the same as an average human, thanks to various light weight, yet durable material used to build her body.  
History: Kelly or Kos-Mos, as she is called, was originally a biomechanical android, designed based on another android of the same name. Despite having similar, if not the same powers as the original, the one thing Kelly doesn't have, is the soul of Mary Magdalene, making her completely her own individual. She joined "Starfox X" to help and support her two siblings.  
Abilities: Weapons proficiency, Energy manipulation.  
Personality: Kelly has a gentle personality, and can be somewhat of a pacifist at times. Due to her being biomechanical, she is anything but robotic in personality. She can be overprotective at times, often accidentally putting Nia in an embarrassing spot in the process.  
Character type: OC

Shotaro Hidari  
Position: Data collector, undercover operative, pilot  
Species: Human  
Gender: Male  
Age: 20 (I think)  
Family: unknown

Apperance and attire: the same as episode 1 of Kamen Rider Double  
History: He was originally a private investigator who worked in the town known as Wind City. Using the Double driver and the Gaia Memories: Joker, Metal, and Trigger, he and his partner, Phillip, protected the city as Kamen Rider Double, from monsters known as Dopants. After several Gaia Memories were lost due to a dimension distortion, Shotaro and Phillip joined "Starfox X" as a means to track down and secure the missing Gaia Memories.  
Abilities: Transforms into Kamen Rider Double (with Phillip)  
Personality: Shotaro has an unpredictable personality. He is somewhat cocky, and proclaimes himself as a "hard-boiled" detective. Although a member of the primary group, he and his partner have a tendency to work on their own grounds.  
Character type: Character from "Kamen Rider Double"

Phillip  
Position: Data processor, undercover operative, pilot  
Species: Human  
Gender: male  
Age: looks around 19  
Family: Sonozaki Family (ties cut)

Apperance and attire: the same as episode 1 of Kamen Rider Double  
History: His origins were initially unknown, though it was later revealed he was the third child in the Sonozaki Family, Raito Sonozaki. He is Shotaro's partner who used to work in the town of Wind City. Using the Double driver and the Gaia Memories: Cyclone, Luna, and Heat, he and Shotaro, protected the city as Kamen Rider Double, from monsters known as Dopants. After several Gaia Memories were lost due to a dimension distortion, Shotaro and Phillip joined "Starfox X" as a means to track down and secure the missing Gaia Memories.  
Abilities: Linking to the "Gaia Library", super computer levels of thinking, Transforms into Kamen Rider Double (with Shotaro)  
Personality: Phillip is an odd character, as he often claims to know everything, but simply loves to research on things he doesn't know. Although a member of the primary group, he and his partner have a tendency to work on their own grounds.  
Character type: Character from "Kamen Rider Double"

Role: Main group, who usually act as the actual "Starfox X" team.

Starfox X (secondary members)

Fox Mccloud

Krystal Mccloud

Neo Lumino

Role: Secondary group, who usually act as support, though sometimes assisting or supervising the primary group.

Authors Note: Alright, here is the cast list for a fanfic I just recently thought of. Read and review please.


	2. The New Team

Disclaimer: I do not own Starfox, or any other series featured in this fanfic. Only the original characters are mine.

Chapter 1: The New Team

Somewhere in space....

"Alright! We've got these guys cornered and they don't even realize it," A voice stated out to several others in the large ship. "We got'cha there, but what next, Marcus-taichou?" another voice replied, before adding, "We may have them in our sights, but if we get too close, we lose our advantage," he finished. At that, the first figure gave a slight smirk, before saying "Way ahead of you. Nia, please," he said, indicating a girl about his age. "Roger," she said, before closing her eyes and concentrating. After she opened her eyes again, she sent a few thoughts to her teammates, and when she was done, they were all smiling, knowing exactly what to do.

"Everyone ready?" the captain, Marcus McCloud asked, getting several shouts of "Hai! (Yes!)" from his team. After the ignition sequence was complete, their Arwings were flying right for the pirate ship ahead. The first phase of the mission was easy enough. The Arwings they were currently using, all being version X, type S, had the best stealth system of all types of version X, making them virtually undetectable by anyone other than ships owned by "The Guardians". After getting close enough, they began their strategy.

The team's ambush and stealth attacker, Kobayashi Ueki, and the team's weapon specialist and Nia's sister, Kelly Lumino went out and attacked the ship from the front, whilst still in stealth mode, thereby effectively catching the pirates off guard, and sending them into a panic, as parts of their ship were rapidly being blown apart. Despite how effectively they were damaging the ship, they hadn't, or rather purposely refrained from damaging the ship too much, for two reasons. One, the pirates had something they were supposed to retrieve, that was preferably retrieved in one piece. Two, they were in fact, only the decoys, while Marcus McCloud, the team captain, Nia Lumino, the team navigator, and Shotaro Hidari, the team's undercover agent, snuck in from behind, so they could cripple the pirates from the inside, and also retrieve the item in question, an experimental system that was being developed. Meanwhile, the team's hacker, and Nia's older brother, Nathan Lumino, along with the team strategist, Wanko Sano, and Shotaro's partner, Phillip, stayed on their ship, The Great Fox X, as the support team, and emergency backup.

Once they had managed to sneak inside, Nia began concentrating again. In her mind, she could already see everything in the ship. She could see the ship's layout, the location of the many pirates in the ship, but more importantly, the location of the item they needed to retrieve. She quickly used some telepathy, to show her teammates the map she had in her mind. After seeing the map, they all nodded, and started moving out.

After turning a few corners, they were 'greeted' by several pirates. The pirates didn't like this one bit. First they were being attacked from outside, and their ship was already badly damaged. Now they had just found out that they were also being attacked from the inside, and that put them in the mood for some blood, and they intended to get it from the intruders in front of them.

However, they stopped short when they got a good look at the intruders. The one in front, which seemed like the leader, was an anthropomorphic fox, with blue fur, and some white fur around his muzzle, and a white Mohawk of fur on his head. The girl on his right seemed around the same age as the fox. She had long black hair, which was tied into a sort of pony tail, but most noticeable of all, was her eyes, that had suddenly changed from a hazel brown color, to a crimson red color, followed by an odd air that suddenly seemed to surround her. The one to the fox's left was a young man, probably in his early twenties, who had the appearance of some kind of detective or something like that. He had light brown hair and eyes, stood in a ready position, signifying that he was no novice in these kinds of situations. "Who the hell are you?" exclaimed the leader of the pirate group, clearly in a real rage at seeing them in the ship. At this, Marcus simply said "We are, The Starfox X. Remember that!" he stated, before pulling out his a blaster, and firing a few laser shots at them. Some of the shots hit several pirates dead on, but the rest were quickly deflected when the pirates pulled out their energy shields. "_How did they get those?_" Marcus thought, although the reason was probably obvious. These guys were pirates, so they probably stole those shields. Nia quickly went to her friend's help, by pulling out what looked like a simple arm guard, but then two parts sprouted out of the sides, then connected with a string that looked like it was made out of light, turning her weapon into bow mode. She quickly pulled the string, and fired several laser arrows at the pirates that had shields with them. At first, the pirates laughed, thinking the arrows would bounce of their shields, but they were surprised as anything, when the arrows easily pierced their shields, leaving several holes in the shields, and effectively giving several of the pirates the looks of Swiss cheese, complete with the holes.

The pirates blinked in surprised, but not for long, as that one moment cost them, when Marcus and Shotaro quickly made short work of them, demonstrating some of their skills in hand-to-hand combat, efficiently knocking most of the pirates out, as the team didn't believe in the idea of needless killing. Looking down at his defeated crew, the captain growled, before pulling out an odd looking USB-flash memory. It was a deep blue color, with a rib cage design, and had the picture of a wavy O on it. The team's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the USB. "That's..." Nia couldn't help but gasp in surprise. "A Gaia Memory!" Marcus finished for her, just as surprised as she was. The pirate smirked at their reactions. He quickly pulled his sleeve up, to reveal an odd shaped tattoo, which looked like a USB port. He then pressed the button on the side of the Gaia Memory, activating it. "Ocean!" it called out in response, before the pirate jammed it into the tattoo on his arm. Immediately, his body began spewing water, until it completely covered him, and when it subsided, a creature that looked like a humanoid version of a whale, which looked like it was made almost completely out of water, stood where the pirate had been moments ago.

The pirate, now turned Dopant, immediately fired several high pressure jets of water at the team, who quickly avoided the jets. Marcus quickly countered, by firing several shots at the Dopant, but they just went through him, not doing any damage. Marcus then quickly folded his blaster, so that the barrel was now facing straight up. He then pushed the lower half of the barrel forward, and then pulled the trigger once, causing a laser blade to spring out of his blaster, converting his blaster into sword mode. He then tried slashing the Dopant several times, only to get the exact same effect as his first try. The Dopant didn't intend to give Marcus a third chance, as he quickly fired another jet of water at him, effectively knocking him back.

The situation didn't look too good, as they didn't have forever to retrieve the item, and even Kobayashi and Kelly couldn't keep the fake attack up forever. With that in mind, Shotaro decided to make his move. "Marcus-taichou! Nia-san! Go on ahead first!" he called out to his two team mates. They both shot him questioning looks, which clearly said 'Are you crazy? We can't leave you behind just like that' before he pulled out the Double Driver from his vest. Realizing what he was about to do, Marcus nodded, and said, "Alright. We're counting on you Shotaro," before firing his blaster, to create a makeshift smoke screen, before he and Nia ran past the Dopant.

The Dopant laughed when the smoke cleared, seeing two of the three intruders gone, leaving only one intruder behind, the odd one that looked like some kind of detective. "Looks like your 'friends' have abandoned you" he said, the enjoyment clear in his voice. "No. They have gone to finish the mission, while entrusting dealing with you to me, which is why I will defeat you," Shotaro replied, before correcting himself by saying "No. I mean 'we' will defeat you," he said, before putting on the Double Driver, and pulling out a black USB from his vest, and pressing the button on the USB activating it. "Joker!" the USB, the Joker Memory, called out in response to its activation. "Phillip?" Shotaro said, calling out the name of his partner.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the Great Fox X, Phillip looked up from the book he was reading, when an exact copy of the Double Driver appeared around his waist. Nathan and Wanko looked towards their team mate, and noticed the buckle, before saying "Do your best you two," they said, earning a nod from Phillip, before he pulled out a green colored Gaia Memory, and activated it. "Cyclone!" it called out in response. At that very moment, both Shotaro and Phillip called out the same word, in perfect sync. "Henshin!" They called out, before Phillip inserted his Gaia Memory into the right slot on the Double Driver. Immediately, the Gaia Memory disappeared, and Phillip's body fell limp on the ground, only for Nathan to catch it, before it made impact.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

The Cyclone Memory reappeared on the right slot on Shotaro's Double Driver, before Shotaro immediately jammed it in, before jamming his Gaia Memory, The Joker Memory into the left slot on the Double Driver, before he pushed the buckle's two halves aside, giving it the appearance of the letter W. "Cyclone Joker!" the Double Driver called out, before Shotaro was quickly clad in a green and black armor. The armor was sleek, and looked more like a body suit. The helmet he wore was the same color as the armor, green on the right, and black on the left, finished off with a long scarf hanging from the back of his green half. Shotaro and Phillip had now merged to become Kamen Rider Double. "Sā, omae no tsumi o kazoero! (Now, your crimes will be counted!)" Double stated, his voice a mixture of both Shotaro's and Phillip's voices. The Dopant only tilted its head in response. Normally, Double's remark would have made most Dopants very angry, but not this one, on the count of one thing. This Dopant didn't have a clue as to what Double had just said, as he didn't understand or speak Japanese. Regardless, he immediately charged at Double, intent on making short work of the rider.

Double easily blocked or avoided the Dopant's attacks, but when it came to making some attacks of their own, the result was pretty much the same as when Marcus tried. Realizing that the current form they were in was useless to fight their opponent, Double's right side, which held Phillip's consciousness, quickly removed the Cyclone Memory from the Double Driver, before pulling out a new Gaia Memory. This Gaia Memory was red, signifying a Gaia Memory with a fire affinity. "Heat!" it called out, when Phillip's half of Double activated it, before he inserted it into the Double Driver, just like he did with the Cyclone Memory. "Heat Joker!" the Double Driver called out, initiating a half change, causing the side of Double that was once green, to turn into a fiery red color, signaling Double's half change, into their Heat Joker form. Immediately, Double fired several fire balls from their right hand, causing some of the water that made up most of the Dopant's body. "Oi, Phillip. Don't just change memories without telling me," the left half of Double, which held Shotaro's consciousness said, slightly annoyed, as he didn't like it when Phillip just changed Gaia Memories on such short notice.

Hissing angrily, the Dopant tried to retaliate, only to be met by more fire balls, which quickly made more of its body evaporate, exposing more of its solid parts. Seeing the effect, Double continued their assault, barraging the Dopant with multiple attacks from their right side, effectively damaging it, and making it lose more of its protective liquid coating. Seeing the opportunity, Double hit the Dopant with a strong kick, interlaced with a large fire ball, heavily damaging it, and causing the liquid coating to completely evaporate. "Shotaro. What next?" Phillip's half of Double asked Shotaro's half of Double (this being signified by Double's right 'eye' flashing in accordance to Phillip's voice). "Isn't it obvious?" Shotaro's half replied, before adding "Memory break of course," Shotaro's half of Double finished. Hearing that, Phillip's half immediately switched the Heat Memory with the Cyclone Memory, reverting Double to Cyclone Joker form. Shotaro's half of Double immediately removed the Joker Memory from the left slot in the Double Driver, and placed it on the slot located on the right side of Double's belt. "Joker! Maximum Drive!" the Double Driver called out in response, followed by Double being lifted up by a strong gust of wind that had begun to kick up, courtesy of the Cyclone Memory's power. After getting to a certain height, Double levitated for a moment, before going into their rider kick. "Joker Extreme!" Double called out, as they were launched at the Dopant. During the quick drop, Double split into two halves, with the black half hitting the Dopant first, followed by the green half. The Dopant exploded, and when the flames died out, the pirate captain collapsed, unconscious, and his Ocean Memory shattered due to Double's Memory Break. With the battle over, Double removed the two Gaia Memories in their belt, before removing the Double Driver as well, sending Phillip's soul back into his body, and reverting Double back into Shotaro. Quickly taking off into a run, Shotaro headed to the direction Marcus and Nia had taken earlier. He kept running until he came to a door. A door that had been torn clear off from its frame. "_Definitely Marcus-taichou's handiwork. Man, those GENEs really know how to make an impression,_" Shotaro thought to himself, immediately walking into the room.

When Shotaro got into the room, he could only whistle at the state of the room. Machinery had been torn off, and thrown around the room, and the pirates in the room were scattered around, some were hanging off machinery, some were lying on the ground, and some had even been thrown through the wall. The only way to explain the state of the room and the pirates in the room, was that they looked like a tornado hit them. "Did Nia-chan use the Tornado card? Or did Marcus-taichou beat the stuffing out of them?" Shotaro chuckled to himself. "Both," Marcus's voice replied to Shotaro's comment. Looking around, he spotted the blue vulpine. Smiling slightly, he walked over to the team captain. When he got closer, he noticed Marcus holding a chip in his hand. "Hard to believe that that little chip is worth everything we went through," Shotaro commented looking at the chip. Marcus's only response was a nod. "Well don't forget, that is a piece of Cybertronian technology we have there, best of the best, even by universal standards" Nia commented, walking up from behind Marcus. "Well then, are we going to just stand here, or have we already accomplished the mission?" She commented with a smile, earning a couple of "Hai" from her team mates.

"Alright everyone, mission accomplished," Marcus said. He, Nia, and Shotaro were already in their arwings, and were flying away from the pirate ship. Hearing that the first mission had been a success, Kobayashi and Kelly immediately stopped their attack, and headed back for The Great Fox X.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright," Marcus started. "We've come this far, now let's finish the job," he stated, gesturing to Nathan, who nodded in response "Roger, captain," he said, before activating the cannons on the front of The Great Fox X. "Burst mode, online. Rouse card inserted. Target locked. Fire!" he called out, activating the cannons, which fired a massive beam at the pirate ship, seemingly destroying it instantly. When the beam dissipated, there was nothing left of the pirate ship, until a card popped out of the console, with the image of the pirate ship depicted on the front. "Alright everyone, mission accomplished," Marcus said, a smile visible on his face.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, excellent work as always," the hologram of Neo Lumino stated. The team had just sent the rouse card, which held the entire pirate ship and its crew, along with the chip they had retrieved. "I've already sent the reward, and everyone is looking forward to your return," Neo stated, a smile on his face, especially when he looked toward his daughter. "We look forward to returning home, and I look forward to seeing you and mother again," Nia said with a smile, earning a nod from her father, before he ended the transmission.

"Alright, I think we can all agree on our next destination. Right, captain?" Kelly said. At that, everyone unanimously agreed, and the ship was steered toward their next destination. The Travelling City of Traverse Town, otherwise known as, Home.

Author's Note:  
Chapter 1 complete. If there are any questions, please submit via review of PM. Deadline for the challenge of figuring out what GENE stands for, is until the characters actually say what it means, which should be around chapter 3 – chapter 4.

P.S.

Here is something to help clear out a few questions.

Glossary:

Star Fox X  
A group of mercenaries, and the third generation of Star Fox. It was inspired by the stories of the adventures of the original Star Fox, and the adventures of the second Star Fox, which is why they act just like the previous Star Fox, with the alliance known as "The Guardians" taking the place of what Corneria was to the previous two Star Fox teams. The X in the team's name signifies that they are a Star Fox like no other, as the members consist of people from various worlds, and various species. The team currently consists of a grand total of 8 members, who include: Marcus McCloud (Captain), Nia Lumino (Navigator), Kobayashi Ueki (Stealth and Ambush Assault Specialist), Wanko Sano (Strategist), Nathan Lumino (Hacker), Kelly Lumino (Weapons Specialist), Shotaro Hidari (Undercover Operative), and Phillip (Undercover Operative). Star Fox X's logo, is almost identical to the original Star Fox logo, with the only difference being the large X positioned right behind the fox logo.

The Guardians  
A massive alliance who protect the worlds from various threats, particularly the ever present threat of The Heartless and Nobodies. It was originally founded by the original Celestial Seven (Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Mickey Mouse (Kingdom Hearts version), Donald Duck (Kingdom Hearts version), Goofy (Kingdom Hearts version) and Neo Lumino (Original Character)). Currently, there are an estimate 1000 worlds who are part of the alliance, and still more are expected to eventually come. They are currently being led by the Neo Celestial Seven (Subaru Hoshikawa (Ryuusei no Rockman), Wataru Kurenai (Kamen Rider Kiva), Bloom (Winx Club), Ben Tennyson (Ben 10: Alien Force), Shiro Emiya (Fate/Stay Night), Masaru Daimon (Digimon Savers), and Nights (Nights series)). Their role in this fic, is as Star Fox X's almost constant employers, similar to Corneria with the original two Star Fox teams.

Great Fox X  
Star Fox X's mother ship. A recreated version of the original Great Fox, with many new upgrades and adjustments. Though it's identical to the original Great Fox in its basic form, it differs greatly in both its inner design, being that it has a large arsenal of concealed weaponry, with several different types of generators powering it, and the outer layer, which is made from a special metal that can be triggered to self repair when necessary, and its outer color (just a different paint job) which is a silvery color, with several blue strips running from its front to its back.

Arwing X  
An upgraded version of the arwings. Though there are actually 3 different models of upgraded arwings, The Star Fox X team favors the use of the well balanced version X Arwings. These Arwings are made for both fast movement, and relative fire power, making them the best choice for the often unpredictable job.

Gaia Memory  
a mysterious set of USB Memories. The Gaia Memories are divided into the "True Gaia Memories" and the "Fake Gaia Memories", with the fakes being noticeably more evil looking, and being the ones used to create the monsters known as Dopants, and the true ones being more common looking, and being the media to form Kamen Rider Double. (Series of origin: Kamen Rider Double)

Rouse Card  
Cards used to seal things. Originally used to seal monsters known as Undead, the current version is capable of sealing various things, and is the proof of criminals that were defeated and captured by Star Fox X, as the current rouse cards are generally used by Star Fox X, though there are some exceptions. (Series of origin: Kamen Rider Blade)

Dopant  
Monsters that form as a result of the use of a "Fake Gaia Memory". An entire cargo of "Fake Gaia Memories" was lost in an accident, and many have fallen into unknown hands, with many being the wrong type. The transformation can be triggered by "plugging" the Gaia memories into a port shaped tattoo that appears on the user's body. (Series of origin: Kamen Rider Double)

Double Driver  
a mysterious buckle that when used with the "True Gaia Memories" can invoke the transformation into Kamen Rider Double. It is currently in the possession of Star Fox X member, Shotaro Hidari, and his partner, Phillip. (Series of origin: Kamen Rider Double)


	3. Adventure Start, Lylat Uncovered

Disclaimer: I do not own Starfox, or any other series featured in this fanfic. Only the original characters are mine.

Author's Note: Alright. This chapter starts with Marcus's theme (this version of him), and also the main theme of Starfox X. Enjoy. Note: song lyrics are in italic. Normal style means what happens during the lyrics. Dotted line means just sound. (For better idea, check on youtube or some other site with anime music)

(Barairo no Sekai, by Pierrot)

_--------------__--- _(Scene: flying through a starfield of emerald colored stars)

_Kimiga Seou Itamino Hatte Niwa__._ Marcus is seen; with a slightly transparent version of his face up close (He has a somewhat cocky look on his face). (Background: Inter space)

_Miushi__na Atte Ita Kanouseiga Matte Ite._Nia is seen, also with a slightly transparent version of her face up close (She has a gentle smile on her face). (Background: Traverse Town (view from the sky))

_Namida Mo Sugu Ni Wasurete Shimatte__._ (Split screen, with a tower shape splitting in the middle) Nathan (on the right and facing right) and Kelly (on the left and facing left) are seen in human form, before turning slightly toward the front (both smile slightly)

_Atadashii Kairaku No Oboreru Mon Sa__. _(Another split screen, with the screen divider being a metal rod which is entwined by tree branches) Kobayashi (on the right, also facing right) and Wanko (on the left, also facing left) are seen, before turning slightly toward the front (Wanko smiles slightly, while Kobayashi has a big grin on his face).

_Hametsu Wo Mezasu Rekishi No Story__. _Shotaro and Phillip are seen (Shotaro on the right, with Phillip on the left), with the Double Driver in the background, before it opens up, with a flash of light, and Double is seen standing in the middle.

_Kimi To Futari Naraba Sore Hodo Kuwaku Wa Nai__. _Star Hunter's team leader (Aaron Talbain) is seen before Jack Runner enters from the left and puts his arm around Aaron's shoulder (Aaron gets a surprised look in his face at that, with Jack is smiling away), then Lia Melody enters from the right and nearly bumps into the two of them (She has a cheerful expression on her face, while the two boys get a surprised expression), and finally Rose Talbain jumps in and hugs her brother from behind (Aaron gets a really surprised expression, while Rose has her usual cheerful expression).

_Zetsubouteki Na Sekai Wa I__ma Mo._ The entire team is seen flying their arwings through interspace, before zooming of into the distance.

_Owarisou De Owaranai De Iruyo__._ Aaron is seen transforming into his werewolf form, before he lunges at Marcus, and the two of them start fighting (Marcus with his blaster, and Aaron with his claws and a few of his father's fire techniques).

_Akirame Kaketa Keshiki Mo Kitto__. _Marcus and Aaron continue fighting, whilst sillohuettes of their teammates appear on opposite sides of the screen (Left: Marcus's teammates, Right: Aaron's teammates)

_Futari De Nara Barairo Ni Mieru__. _The screen scrolls upward, with sillohuettes of Star Fox X's friends and family.

_---------------_The "Star Fox X" team are seen watching the sunrise, before turning around and walking away.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2: Adventure Start, Lylat Uncovered

The Great Fox X landed in the gummi ship hangar of Traverse Town. After the docking sequence had finished, the team went down and entered the city that 6 out of 8 of them considered home. Going through the large wooden gate, they came into the first district of the town. Looking around, they were happy to be greeted by the sight of the Victorian style town, complete with street lamps, and cobble stone streets, which was given an oddly romantic appearance by the fact that the city was always set in a night time setting (it was always night there). Despite that, the first district was actually part of a much larger town. The original Traverse Town was made up of the first three districts, dubbed, "Old Traverse Town". After that, there were the fourth district, until the ninth district. The six new districts, dubbed "New Traverse Town", were more futuristic looking, but still had a Victorian style to them, making it certain that they were still a part of Traverse Town.

Nia, Nathan, and Kelly were the first to go home, on the count that their house was the three story tall accessory shop that could be seen when someone first entered the town. After separating from the team, they walked into their house. They were surprised to see the house was completely empty, but were pleasantly surprised when the lights went on, and a party ball the size of a person's head broke open, with a large "Welcome home!" written on it, with their parents, and the many moogle employees, coming out of their hiding spots, and cheering for their return.

Marcus was also greeted by his family when he arrived home. When he arrived at his house in the second district, he was greeted by both his parents, and also the imagin named Sieg, who was contracted to his mother, but had become like an older brother to him. If there was one thing he enjoyed about coming home, it was seeing his parents and his "big brother", Sieg again.

Kobayashi wasn't very different from his friends. When he arrived home, he was happily greeted by his parents. His mother had even prepared one of her signature meals, which as always, killed his appetite at first glance, but kept him begging for more after the first bite.

Wanko didn't lose out either. When he arrived at his house, his parents greeted him happily, as several of his mother's inventions skittered around the house, either helping with the cleaning, or attending to any arrivals, like they were right now.

Shotaro and Phillip entered the house that also doubled as their private detective agency. Looking at the old pictures of their old home, they reminisced on the old days, before Shotaro looked at the hat that belonged to his deceased mentor. "_We're home. Boss..._" he thought sadly. Even though Traverse Town was nice, to them home would always be Futo (Wind City).

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

_A few days later....._

Several drones floated in interspace. They hovered around, looking for any signs of new worlds, in hopes of sending back the data. Unlike other drones, who were simply looking for random worlds, these drones were looking for a specific world, they were looking for the home of Marcus's race, and the home world of his parents, known as The Lylat System. Little did the drones know that luck was on their side, as their sensors indicated a world wall which was nearby to their location. Locating the wall, the drones immediately hacked into the wall, and opened a door to enter.

When the drones entered, they were greeted by a near collision by several arwings. "Scan complete. Arwings identified as Cornerian standard arwings. World scan complete. World identified as Corneria, Lylat System," The drone finished in a mechanical voice, before they immediately transmitted the data to their main headquarters. Turning slightly, they also noticed that they had arrived right in the middle of a battlefield in space. Immediately switching to their defensive stealth modes, the drones made their armor virtually impenetrable, and also rendered themselves invisible to most scanners.

Scanning the situation once again, the drones noticed how one-sided the battle was. Scanning the emblems of both factions, they deduced that the losing side was The Cornerian Army, while their assailants were identified as The Venomian Army. The drones were about to request that their headquarters send A Guardian Fleet, preferably The Cybertronian Army, or The Spiral Army, when they noticed three ships flying toward the battlefield. Surprising the drones, was the fact that the arrival of the three mysterious pilots suddenly seem to help the Cornerian Army's morale, as the battle suddenly became less one sided, and more balanced. Intrigued, the drones immediately went scanning for data on the three pilots. What they got, they knew would spark interest in headquarters. The data they got was on a team of mercenaries known as Star Falco.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

_Guardian's R&D Laboratories, Traverse Town_

Neo looked at the data that he had just received from the drones. Smilling slightly, he sent a message to the McCloud family, via a moogle, telling them to meet him immediately. It wasn't long after that, that the three McClouds, arrived at the laboratory in the third district. "What did you want to tell us that was so urgent?" Fox asked Neo. Neo smiled slightly, before saying, "We've found The Lylat System," he stated simply. At that, Fox's eyes widened in surprise. Neo just smirked when he saw the response, and replayed the footage sent by the drones. The images of the battle between the Cornerian army, against the Venomian army, and more importantly, Star Falco's intervention.

"Star Falco? They weren't around before we disappeared," Fox stated, while Krystal only nodded in agreement. After a few minutes of conversation, Neo suggested that the three of them planned their next moves in private, as he, Fox, and Krystal left for the special strategy room. Marcus on the other hand, just listened intently, while watching the footage. True, the real reason why he was so interested was because he had never seen Lylat before. He had been born and raised in Traverse Town, and had never even once, seen his parent's home world, and all this was thrilling, and frightening for him at the same time. "Well, you don't have to worry about that by yourself. We're here for you remember," Nia's voice came from behind Marcus. Turning around, Marcus smiled when he saw the three Lumino siblings walking toward him. "Yeah," Marcus replied. He was relieved to remember that his friends were always there for him, even now. "Thanks everyone," he said with a smile. Nia just giggled happily at the sight of her friend's smile.

Neo walked out of the strategy room, along with Fox and Krystal. "I believe we've come to our decision?" he asked, earning nods in reply. "Alright then. I've already sent the message to the rest of Star Fox X. We'll all be leaving as soon as everyone is ready," He stated.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

_One hour later, Gummi Ship Hangar_

The entire Star Fox X group, along with Marcus's parents. The swan imagin, Sieg. Along with the Lumino Sibling's father were already in the Great Fox X, preparing for departure. Earlier, they had already explained their plans to the rest of the Guardians, especially to the rest of the Star Fox X's families. After everything was cleared out, the team was ready for departure. Fox and Krystal followed, because they knew that two familiar faces would help convince the Cornerian Army that Star Fox X was on their side. However, to keep the world order, all non Lylatian members, would use world disguises to make them look like anthropomorphics similar to Lylatians, and pretend that they were from some far away planet (Which they had agreed to call "Fantasy", therefore identifying themselves as "Fantasians") outside of The Lylat System.

"All systems green. Ready for takeoff," Nathan said. Right now, his disguise made him look like a young fox, with blonde fur. Other than that, he was wearing his usual outfit, which strangely resembled a butler's outfit. "No abnormalities detected. Dimension Gate ready. ETA, 1 hour," Kelly said. She was a vixen, with purple fur, where Nathan was blonde, with her hair style still consisting of her long, slightly over waist length, violet hair, and she still had her regular outfit, which for some reason, resembled a maid's outfit. "Excellent. I believe that makes us good to go. Marcus?" Neo asked. He too was a fox. He had black fur, which seemed clashed against his usual white attire of a jacket, a shirt, a pair of long pants, boots, and gloves. "Right. Let's go everyone!" Marcus called out. He was wearing a similar outfit to his father's outfit. His outfit consists of a silver flight jacket, with an indigo suit underneath, a pair of silver and blue gloves with spade symbols on the back of both of them, topped up with boots, and a belt with a blue colored spade in the middle.

"Yosh! I can't wait to see what we find in the new world!" Kobayashi said enthusiastically. He was a dog, a Doberman to be precise, which was about the same size as his usual form, with green fur, which was spiky around his head, just like his hair in his human form. He wore a white shirt, and long dark pants, which resembled a summer uniform for high school students. The only difference was the design on his shoulders, which depicted a green club, which was also present on his belt.

"Chill out, Kobayashi. We'll find out when we get there," Wanko said chidingly to his friend. He was a wolf, with red fur, just like his hair when he was in his regular human form. He wore a white colored robe, similar to his father's regular attire, with the only difference being his head band, which was white like his father's, but had a red diamond in the middle.

"This looks like it could be fun," Nia said playfully. She was also a vixen (the entire Lumino family were all foxes, to keep in with them being a family. The fox idea was Nia's idea, and her family didn't have any problems with that). She had black fur, with her hair being her usual shoulder length, which was tied into a single thin pony tail. She wore a blue, looser variation of her father's jacket, with a black and red suit, which vaguely resembled a dress, with a black colored heart design on the belt around her waist, and on her right sleeve.

"How exciting! I wonder what new things there are, that I can research on when we get there," Phillip said, the excitement clear in his voice. He was an owl, with black feathers, which were rather messy around his head, and held to the side by a hair clip. He wore his usual attire, which consisted of his odd combination of a yellow and white striped sweater with a sleeveless green coat that came with a hood, black shorts that came down past his knees, black socks and sneakers, and yellow cut off gloves.

"Well. You'll find out when we get there," Shotaro said. He couldn't help but smile at his partner's strong, yet odd, enthusiasm. Right now, Shotaro was a falcon, with brown feathers. He wore a white long sleeved shirt with a red tie, a black vest and pants along with leather shoes, and a black fedora on his head.

Fox and Krystal couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the Star Fox X team's behavior. They all seemed to have their own views of the trip. "This'll be interesting," Fox said, noting the behaviour of the entire team (He is wearing his same outfit from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, minus the head set). He could practically see the reactions they were going to get from the Cornerian Army, and everybody else who probably thought they were dead. "We've been 'dead' for 19 years, Fox. I wouldn't be surprised if we got those reactions when everyone finds out about us," Krystal said (She is wearing her same outfit from Star Fox: Assault). She had read her husband's mind, and frankly, she had to agree with him. After all, they were going back to the galaxy they had disappeared from 19 years ago, and they were also bringing their son, and a whole new Star Fox team, whose team members had come from various worlds, along with them.

"Well. You shall not have to worry," came a voice from behind the two vulpines. Turning around, they were greeted by the sight of the swan imagin, Sieg. Due to Sieg having a full contract with Krystal, he was able to gain a physical form without having to posses someone, and that was also the reason why he was also in a disguise. Sieg was in the form of an anthropomorphic swan. His feathers were the usual snow white color, with the same hair style usually present in people he possessed. He wore a classy suit, with a white feather boa around his neck, which gave him his almost princely appearance. "I will see to it that no harm comes upon my ototou (little brother)," he stated, using his usual way of referring to Marcus. "Alright. We trust you on that," Krystal said, smiling slightly. She knew her contract imagin well, and she knew that he truly did think of Marcus as his little brother, and not just the means to fulfill his contract. "Yeah. We'll trust you on that, but..." Fox started, while looking Sieg over, before adding, "Do you really have to wear those kinds of clothes all the time? You stick out like a sore thumb," he finished, commenting on Sieg's choice of clothing. "Ah. But it would be disgraceful for someone such as I, to wear commoners clothes," Sieg stated, his usual personality in his voice. At that, the two vulpines sweat dropped.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

The Great Fox X flew right through the gate, and went through the warp tunnel which was bound for The Lylat System. An hour passed, and before long, they were about to jump right into the middle of the still raging battle. Knowing what was in store, the entire teams (minus Nathan, as he was usually the pilot of "The Great Fox X", and Neo, as he was staying behind as backup) were already in their Arwings, and ready to launch.

When they got out of the tunnel, they saw the remains of many of The Cornerian Army's ships, and more disturbingly, several Heartless Ships flying around. Nia also noticed another ship, about to be blasted into smithereens by a Heartless Ship, and she immediately acted quickly.

Taking out a belt buckle with a heart symbol, and a space in the middle, which seemed just right to swipe a card through, she immediately put it on, while flying straight into the line of fire. Taking a card that depicted the image of a mantis in a heart, capital A's on the top left and bottom right, and the word "Change" on the side, she immediately swiped it through the belt, while calling out "Henshin!" at the same time. "Change!" the belt called out in an almost drone like voice. Immediately, both Nia and her Arwing were engulfed in a black energy field, and when it dissipated, Nia was clad in a bulky black armor, with a heart shaped visor, a heart symbol on the chest plate, strange runes on the armor, and antennae on the helmet, which together, gave the armor a look that resembled a black mantis. Her Arwing had also changed, from the usual white color, to the same black color of her armor, with a red heart on the front of the Arwing, and the wings had changed from the stream line design, to a golden color, which were slightly wavy, showing that her Arwing had transformed into the "Shadow Wing"

As she got closer to the damaged ship, and was about to get in the way of the blast, she immediately took out a card, which depicted the picture of a moth, had the number 8 on the top left and bottom right corners, and the word "Reflect" on the side, and swiped it over the panel that had appeared on the controls when she transformed, 'rousing' the card.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

The leader of Star Falco, Falco Lombardi, gritted his teeth. "Damn it. Where did these guys come from?" he cursed, referring to the reinforcements that had suddenly come out of nowhere. The ships were in various forms, which strangely reminded him of the Aparoids, but they were different, as they came in multiple colors, where the Aparoids were all purple, and their most distinguishing feature, was the emblem on the strange ships. The emblem looked like a black heart, with a red X on it (Heartless Emblem). Unfortunately, it didn't matter, as they were assisting the Venomian Army, and they had efficiently turned the tides in Venom's favor. Looking around, he didn't like what he was seeing. All around, there were pieces of the Cornerian Army's ships scattered around. His team mates weren't doing so well either. Dash Bowman had been hit by a shot by one of the enemy ships, and his Sky Claw was rapidly losing control, though he clearly wasn't about to plummet from the sky. Katt Monroe was in worse shape, as her Sky Claw had collided with one of the ships that resembled a large wheel, and had broken one of the wings, causing it to be unable to move properly. More bad news came, when Falco noticed one of the strange ships had just finished charging up, and had fired a large laser, which was headed straight for Katt's crippled Sky Claw. "Katt!" he shouted. Too late, the blast was headed right for her, clearly intending to blast her right out of the sky, but fortunately, help arrived, just in the nick of time.

"Reflect!" a mechanical voice called out, just as a black Arwing appeared right in front of the blast. Falco had expected to see the ship blasted to pieces, but he was in for a surprise, when the shot was reflected right back to the enemy ships, destroying several of them in one shot. Blinking in surprise, he noticed several other Arwings flying out, followed by an all too familiar ship. "_What the?__!__ The Great Fox? But something seems different about it,_" the thought rushed through his head when he saw the ship. He didn't have long to think about it, when he suddenly got a transmission from the ship.

"This is Star Fox X to all remaining Cornerian Forces. We're here to help," Nathan's voice called out through the channels, before adding, "Captain. Everyone is in position," he said, as he toggled the channel to Marcus. Hearing that, Marcus immediately responded. "Alright everyone, Ikuze! Star Fox X, move out!" he called out to his entire team. "Roger, Taichou!" his team replied, as they raced forward, ready to face the Venomians.

Author's note: Alright. Another chapter done. Next chapter is where they do what Star Fox always does; beat the stuffing out of the Venomian Army.

P.S.

Will somebody please review? It's quite depressing to write a story and not get any reviews. GENE challenge is still on by the way.


	4. Face of The Enemy

Disclaimer: I do not own Starfox, or any other series featured in this fanfic. Only the original characters are mine.

Chapter 3: Face of The Enemy

Star Fox X's arrival helped the Cornerian Army greatly. Once they had showed up, they had already begun firing away at the enemy ships, starting with the Heartless Ships that were flying around the battle field. One after another, the Heartless Ships went down in flames, releasing the hearts trapped within them. At the same time, Nia, or rather, Chalice, as she preferred to be called when she had her rider armor on, was busying herself aiding Star Falco's members. "Better fix their ships up," she murmured to herself. She took out another card, this one had the picture of a camel, with the number 9 on the top left and bottom right of the card, and the word 'Recovery' on the side. Before rousing the card using her "Shadow Wing", she made sure she had all three of Star Falco's ships locked on.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

Falco had actually been relieved to see someone actually saving his team's butts. That feeling disappeared however, when he realized that the strange arwing that had saved Katt, had just locked on to all three of their "Sky Claws". "What the hell are you doing? I thought you said you were on our side," Falco exclaimed. He opened a transmission with the black Arwing, hoping to see who was piloting the ship. He was surprised at what he saw. The pilot that was piloting the black Arwing was wearing a strange armor?, he couldn't be sure, as the armor looked like a mantis, and the black color scheme gave it an almost sinister appearance, which seemed to clash by the fact that the armor had a red heart for a visor, and a heart crest on its chest plate. "Fixing your ships," Chalice replied simply, as she swiped the card she had in her hand, over the panel on the dashboard.

"Recovery!" the "Shadow Wing" called out in response to the roused card. Chalice immediately fired a homing laser, which hit all three of the "Sky Claws". Star Falco's members' eyes widened in surprise, when instead of blasting their ships apart, the laser actually repaired the damage their ships had under taken, and were good as new in no time. "What the? How did you..?" Falco started. He couldn't believe what had just happened. "My category 9 card, 'Recovery Camel', can heal things. By default, it can only heal people, but in conjunction with my "Shadow Wing", it can also fix machinery. Don't get used to it though, Falco-sempai, I only had one shot at it, and that was it, the card's gone for now," she stated, answering Falco's question. She then sensed another question from Falco's mind and decided to answer it for him. "My name is of no importance right now. For now, just call me Chalice," she stated, before immediately flying off to aid her team.

Falco just blinked before opening a link to his team. "What do you guys think about them?" Falco asked his team. He was honestly unsure if the mercenaries that had helped them, "Star Fox X" as they called themselves, were really on their side or not. "Dunno, but they helped us out, so I'll trust them for now," Katt replied. Even after what had just happened, she wasn't certain either. "Guess we have no choice. We're at a disadvantage, and they might just be what we need to even the odds," Dash stated, before adding, "Star Fox X. I don't think they have the right to use the name 'Star Fox', but they might just earn it," he finished, noticing that over half of the Venomian army had already been decimated by the Star Fox X group alone.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

Marcus easily dodged attack after attack from the Venomian army. "_This is almost too easy. Compared to what I'm used to, these guys are pushovers,_" he thought, before noticing another portal opening, which then began to crank out several white colored ships. Marcus's eyes widened in surprise when he realized that those white ships were Nobodies in their ship forms. Thinking quickly, he immediately pulled out a silver buckle and put it on his waist. "Henshin!" Marcus called out, as he pulled on the handle of his 'Blade Buckle'. The buckle was silver in color, with a slot on it, which was the right size to insert one of his cards, his category Ace card, 'Change Beetle'. "Turn Up!" the belt called out, as the panel with the card inserted into it turned over to reveal a golden spade symbol, on a red background, located on the other side of the panel. Immediately, a large blue screen, depicting the picture of the card appeared in front of his Arwing. Flying through it, both Marcus and his Arwing were changed by the field. Marcus was donned in a navy blue body suit, with silver armor around his chest, shoulders, and a few parts of his body, with a helmet that resembled a beetle, which had two large red bug-eyes. His Arwing also change. His Arwing changed from its standard white color, into the same navy blue color of his armor's body suit, with a gold spade symbol on the front, and the wings changed from their standard form, to an even more streamline appearance, with rouse symbols (the picture on the back of a rouse card) decorating them. Marcus's Arwing had transformed into the 'Wing Spader', just as its pilot had transformed into his rider form, Blade.

Following their captain's lead, the other team members (except Fox, Krystal, Shotaro, Phillip and Kelly) assumed their rider forms as well. "Henshin!" Kobayashi called out, immediately snapping his 'Leangle Buckle' open. "Open Up!" it called out in response, as a large purple field appeared, and passed over the Arwing, and its pilot. The Arwing changed from its standard color, into a deep green color, which was decorated with a golden club on the main body, and a few small golden spiders around the wings, and the second pair of wings that had appeared underneath the first 2 wings. The G-Diffusers had also been replaced by 3 pieces, which had the appearance of Leangle's staff, signaling that the Arwing had transformed into 'The Wing Clover'. Kobayashi was also donned in a green armor that resembled a spider, signaling that he had transformed into Leangle.

"Henshin!" Wanko called out, pulling on the handle of his 'Garren Buckle'. "Turn Up!" the buckle called out, as it expelled the blue field, which transformed its user into Garren, whose armor resembled a red stag beetle, with emerald green bug eyes, and also transform Wanko's Arwing. The Arwing changed into a deep red color, with golden diamonds decorating both its main body and its wings, with 2 beetle like horns protruding out of the front, transforming it into the 'Wing Rhombus'.

"Time for some fast shooting, or should I say, 'Quick Shooting'?" Garren joked slightly. He pulled out 3 cards, and swiped them on the panel. "Bullet! Rapid! Scope!" it called out in response to the roused cards, before registering the combination. "Quick Shot!" it called out, before the view from inside the 'Wing Rhombus' seemed to slow down for Garren. Taking aim, he immediately fired several shots simultaneously, with every shot hitting a target with deadly precision.

"Not bad Wanko, but now it's my turn," Blade called out, before rousing 3 cards as well. "Tackle! Metal! Mach!" his system called out, before registering the spade combo. "Metal Impact!" it called out, before The Wing Spader turned quicksilver in color, and developed a sort of aura around it. Blade immediately charged at the enemy ships, with The Wing Spader moving at several times its maximum speed due to the effects of 'Mach Jaguar'. Plowing through the many enemies, every Nobody, or Venomian ship that made contact with The Wing Spader exploded on contact, thanks to the combined effects of 'Metal Trilobite' and 'Tackle Boar'.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

Star Falco had been watching Star Fox X's battle with the Venomian army, and they were speechless to say the least. "Did you two see that too?" Katt said, not knowing what to think of what she had just seen. First they had seen three of the Arwings transform, followed by two of the Arwings wiping out nearly all remaining enemy ships using some incredible attacks, which should have been impossible to do, especially the kamikaze attack that the blue Arwing had just done, without destroying its self in the process. "Those Arwings....are far more advanced than even the best of our current technology," Dash pointed out. He didn't like admitting it, but the Arwings the 'Star Fox X' team were using, were far more advanced than anything Corneria, or any of the planets in The Lylat System had developed. "That style of flying..." Falco started, before realizing why it was so familiar. "It's slightly different, but Fox used to fly like that!" he exclaimed as the realization hit him. "But Falco, that's impossible. It's been 19 years since that 'incident'," Katt said. She wanted to believe what she thought Falco was thinking, but it was impossible. "Yeah I know, but whoever this guy is, I'd like to know where he learned to fly like that," Falco stated, before flying off and blasting some of the remaining Venomian forces.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

The battle had turned greatly into Corneria's favor, as the Venomian Fleet had nearly been decimated. Some of the remaining Cornerian forces were even getting cocky, as they began getting more aggressive in their attacks to the Venomians. To the Cornerian Army, especially the members who had been in this position for over 19 years, it felt like the days when Star Fox flew through the skies. This cockiness unfortunately cost them, when a large metal hand grabbed and crushed several of the remaining ships.

The current emperor of Venom, Andrew Oikonny, was not happy at all with the outcome of the battle. At first, he thought that his army would be able to beat Corneria, but Star Falco's interference cost him his initial advantage, but that was expected. He was pleased to see that the mysterious ships that aided his army were actually able to tip the odds back into his favor, but this was unexpected. The appearance of these people calling themselves 'Star Fox X' was completely unexpected. "_No matter. I'll show these wannabes how I deal with anybody using the name 'Star Fox',_" he thought evilly. He immediately engaged his flag ship (the same one seen in the beginning of Star Fox: Assault), and transformed it into its special mode, which was modeled to resemble the form of a cross between himself and his uncle, and immediately took off to engage the 'Star Fox X' team.

Noticing the incoming battle ship, 'Star Fox X' immediately went into a close formation, whilst opening links with one another. "Guess Oikonny never learned when to quit," Fox said, noticing the familiar ship. "Either that, or he's just too stupid to give up," Krystal said. She chuckled slightly, as she remembered the times when the old team had reduced that ship to scrap metal, yet it seemed to always come back, ready for more. "Well, there won't be a 'next time' once we're done here," Neo stated, a slight smirk crawling into his face. "Nathan, please prepare a rouse card. I think we've just found our 'catch of the day'," Neo said, joking slightly. "Whatever you say dad," Nathan replied whilst pulling out another blank rouse card from the card holder. "Alright everyone, let's teach this monkey a lesson he'll never forget!" Blade called out, before he immediately went to engage their new opponent with his team following close behind.

The team began encircling their target, as they began repeatedly bombarding their target with laser shots. Whilst the team fought against the ship, back on The Great Fox X, Nathan and Neo were busy analyzing the target, searching for any weak points. They eventually found two weak points, which were located on the palms of both hands. "Minna! We've found the weak points. Aim for the palms of the hands" Neo called out to the team. "What? You're kidding right," Fox asked. Even after having to deal with Oikonny several times, he didn't think Oikonny was **that** stupid. "No, why?" Neo replied. He was slightly confused at Fox's sudden outburst. "Those are the exact same weak points we blasted apart every single time," Fox said, sweat dropping at the same time. This in turn, made Neo anime-fall. "_Is this guy really the Venomian Emperor, or is he just some idiot who got real lucky,_" Neo thought, before regaining his composure. "Well that doesn't matter. Just blow that thing out of the sky," Neo stated, with an annoyed look on his face.

Acknowledging Neo's remark, the team immediately went about with the plan. At first, it wasn't as easy as it seemed, due to the thing being faster and the armor being stronger than the last time it was destroyed, but that changed when Chalice got a brilliant idea. Using her telepathy to talk to her team mates, she told them her plan. Everyone nodded in response, before getting into position. Blade and Leangle would serve as bait, whilst the rest of the team, minus Chalice and Garren would drop out of the battle, to give a false appearance of a retreat. True enough, the moment they did that, Oikonny immediately fell for it, and went straight for the bait, thinking they were the only ones left. However, the moment he lunged to grab Blade's and Kobayashi's Arwings, Chalice suddenly called out, "Gate Card Open! Mind Ghost!" The moment she announced it, the trap she had set activated. A bright card shaped light appeared under Oikonny's ship, followed by a large explosion which sent his ship flying and effectively tore off the extra armor which had so effectively protected it. Before it was blown too far away, a mechanical voice suddenly rang out. "Bio!" it called out, before plant vines suddenly encircled Oikonny's ship, pinning it in its current position, and pinning its arms in such a way, that it left them wide open to attack. "Ready, everyone?" Chalice asked her team, her voice had a slightly malicious tone. The team didn't reply. Instead, they answered her question by opening fire on the helpless ship, efficiently damaging it to the point of it clearly being unable to fight anymore.

"Impossible! I am the Emperor of Venom. I am the rightful ruler. I-I...." Oikonny started, before Neo took advantage of his little speech and fired the cannon on 'The Great Fox X', fully intending to capture and seal the annoying emperor once and for all. Oikonny saw the blast coming, but couldn't even avoid it anymore. When the blast hit him, he could only do the usual thing he did when he lost. He cried out, "Uncle Androssss!" He cried out in fear, as his ship and himself were sucked into the rouse card.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

Did everyone just see what I saw?" Falco asked in disbelief. "Oikonny getting blasted and sucked into that little card? Yeah, I saw that and I still don't believe it" Dash stated flatly, while Katt just answered "Ditto," she said. "_The more I see what those guys can do, the more I want to know who they are, what they are, and where they came from,_" Falco thought, as Star Fox X was beginning to pique his interest more and more.

"Mission accomplished everyone. Great job," Neo said, as he removed the rouse card that had the sealed Oikonny in it. He was about to begin preparations to formally introduce themselves to Corneria and the rest of The Lylat System, when Nathan suddenly called out, "Dad! I'm picking up massive amounts of dark energy approaching. Scan indicates that part of the energy signature matches Xeno's energy," Nathan stated, whilst relaying the information to the rest of Star Fox X.

"What? No way!" Blade called out, alarmed at the information. "I guess we should have anticipated this," Chalice says, frantically trying to keep her composure. "No way! That mad man is here?" Leangle yells out in disbelief. "That guy never quits, does he?" Garren called out, whilst gritting his teeth. "Well that doesn't matter! We're going to beat this guy, no matter how many times he gets back up; we'll just keep beating him back down. Let's go everyone!" Fox calls out. "Roger!" Everyone replies in unison, ready to take on their arch-enemy once again.

"Dark energy approaching!" Nathan called out, allerting his team mates. Immediately, dark energy began collecting before it eventually became a coherent form, of an all too familliar ape. "Andross!" Fox said in surprise. "No doubt about it. It's him, but don't let your guard down everyone. I can tell he's been powered up by that dark energy," Neo stated. He had already sensed the revived Andross's energy, and he was disturbed to sense not just dark energy, but also some of the energy of a certain Lumino Clan member.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

Star Falco and several remaining Cornerian Forces had just arrived at the scene. When they saw who was there, other than Star Fox X, they were surprised as anything. "Andross? Impossible!" Falco yelled in surprise. "But Fox destroyed him years ago," Katt exclaimed, just as surprised. "So how did grandfather come back?" Dash said, not sure if he believed what he saw.

"Fools! Do you honestly think I would reveal how I came back?" Andross said, laughing evilly. His moment of amusement was cut short when he heard someone shout, "Yeah. That would have been a problem, if we didn't already know how you came back." At that, Andross turned toward the source of the sound, to see a black fox standing atop the 'Great Fox X'. Realizing what the source of Andross's power was, Neo decided to spill it to everyone. "So...got yourself a new pawn didn't you? I bet you intended to mask your presence through him, eh?" Neo stated to nobody in particular, before adding "Well it's not fooling me. Show yourself, Xeno Lumino!" Neo shouted.

As if in response to Neo's shout, an insane laugh suddenly filled everyone's ears, followed by darkness suddenly converging, before it broke apart to reveal a fox. The fox had stark white fur, the shade of white only attainable...through madness. He wore twisted black armor, and had an even more twisted grin on his face, topped up with malicious crimson red eyes. "Well-well, how did you figure out it was me?" the fox asked, not sounding surprised at all. "Your energy is like a flare gun. I can't miss it even if I tried," Neo said. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them up again, they had changed from their usual light brown color, to the same crimson red color as the eyes of the white fox. "Get ready Xeno. Cause this time, we'll see to it that you won't come back," Neo said angrily. "Is that so? Well, let's see if you and that team of yours have the bite to back that up," the fox refered to as Xeno stated, before adding, "Andross? Shall we?" Xeno finished with an insane grin on his face.

Both Xeno and Andross immediately lunged at the 'Star Fox X' team. Andross immediately went for the arwings flying around, intending to destroy them all with his signature attack (the one where he inhales, then spits out chunks of rock), which was easily avoided by the group, as they began returning fire. Xeno on the other hand, immediately landed on the roof of The Great Fox X and went for Neo. Xeno immediately formed a scythe made out of darkness, while Neo immediately summoned his dual swords, Opposing Sides, using them to block the scythe, before splitting them into two halves and countering Xeno's attacks, whilst both were firing bolts of both light and darkness at each other, which resulted in a stalemate between the two.

Andross was about to try another attack, but was stopped when a smart bomb hit him from behind. Angrily, he was about to turn around to see who had attacked him from behind, but he failed to realize that his actions had left his hands wide open to an attack. Taking advantage of the fact, Blade and Chalice immediately roused two of their respective cards, with Blade's being his 5 and 6 of spades, and Chalice's being her 5 and 6 of hearts, initiating their respective signature combos. "Lightning Blast!" called out the Wing Spader, before it was engulfed in electricity and immediately charged and collided with Andross's right hand, destroying it instantly. At the same time, Chalice's combo had also activated. "Spinning Attack!" her Shadow Wing called out, before her ship went into a barrel roll and hurdled straight to Andross's left hand, impacting it like a drill which instantly destroyed it as well.

Xeno and Neo were fighting like crazy atop the Great Fox X, with both matching each other's blows with deadly precision. It looked like it would have been a stalemate for a while, until Neo caught Xeno's scythe between his dual swords, and quickly swinging his empty hand toward Xeno, whilst summoning his special weapon at the same time. Light and darkness collected at Neo's hand, before Neo's keyblade: Unlimited, appeared and cut Xeno across the chest. Xeno grunted in pain and jumped away slightly. He eyed the silver crystalline keyblade with hate apparent in his eyes, before he saw Andross's arms being blown apart. Seeing what had happened to Andross, Xeno smirked slightly before jumping farther away from Neo. "Looks like old Andross got himself in a pinch again. I'll have to postpone our match until next time, Neo. Just you wait, once the ancient power is in our hands, nothing will stop us," Xeno said, his usual sick grin on his face. He immediately jumped and used shunpo to reach Andross. Neo just gritted his teeth annoyed. He had to admit, of all the enemies he'd faced in the past, none of them seemed to tick him of more than Xeno. "_Just you wait Xeno. I'll defeat you and when that happens, I'll see to it that your legacy of destruction fades away for eternity,_" Neo thought.

Andross was cornered. Star Fox X was ready for him from the front, and Star Falco had him from behind. Thinking they had him on the ropes, Star Falco immediately launched several smart bombs, whilst firing their lasers at him, ready to finish him off. The attack was about to hit, when Xeno suddenly appeared behind Andross and launched a counter attack. "Fear the roar of the wyvern! Greatest Caution!" Xeno called out, using the power of the one of his previous victims, Wyvern Rhadamanthys. Star Falco was surprised as anything when the attack hit, blowing away all their attacks, and badly damaging their Sky Claws. Star Fox X was luckier, as they had experience with this particular attack, and were able to ride on the shockwave the attack produced, as to minimize the damage their ships suffered.

"Well now, I believe that will be all for now. Just you wait, once _that_ power is in our hands, this world will be ours," Xeno stated, with a sick grin on his face. With that, he encased both Andross and himself with his energy and flew off. Seeing that, 'Star Fox X' immediately regrouped in the Great Fox X, and immediately traced their energy signal and pursued them.

"Where in the universe are those two madmen headed?" Marcus asked, while he dismissed his rider armor. "The energy signatures indicate that they are headed for....Planet Sauria?" Kelly says, slightly surprised at the data. "Wait! Scans detect massive dark energy coming from Sauria. The signature partially resembles....The Dark Hour?" Nathan read out in surprise, when he saw the data. "Impossible! How can The Dark Hour exist here?" Nia asked in surprise as she swiped a card through her belt. The card she swiped depicted a picture of a human, with a heart inside. The 2 of hearts: Spirit Human. "Spirit!" it called out, before a field appeared and stripped off Nia's armor. "From the looks of it, I'd say they beat us to this world, and started something on Sauria. It looks like this partial dark hour only cause's regular technology to stop working, so that doesn't include magic technology, which means we can still use some of our equipment," Neo said. He looked at the data, before snapping his fingers, and several weapons appeared.

"Hey! These are our mystic weapons!" Kobayashi exclaimed. He immediately dismissed his armor, and immediately picked up his cross pike, "Frozen Root". The cross pike, "Frozen Root", was long, with 3 spikes similar to Leangle's rouser, with a blunt end on the back of the shaft, used for defense. It was an icy blue color around the shaft, mixed with deep green around the blades, showing its affinity to both ice and wood. "Been a while since I used this old thing," Wanko stated. He too, dismissed his armor, and went to pick up the silver gun that was lying around. His mystic weapon, the "E-Magnum". The "E-Magnum" was actually a Full Auto 9 gun, which was mostly silver, with some red on the handle, and had a fiery red crystal embedded on the side of the barrel, showing that it currently was loaded with fire ammo. "Alright! Can't wait to try "Raikouken" again," Marcus said excitedly, as he picked up his Katana, the "Raikouken". The sheath was black, with a design that resembled a blue lightning bolt. The hilt was silvery in color, and the blade itself was a bright shade of white, with a bluish aura, showing its affinity to lightning. "Long time no use," Fox said, as he picked up his mystic weapon, "Solar Storm". "Solar Storm" was a broadsword, with a crimson red hilt, a black sheath, and a fiery orange blade, which was always warm to the touch, signifying its affinity to fire. "It's been a long time," Krystal chuckled, as she picked up her old staff, which had recently been named "Mystic Soul". Though her staff still looked the same, it had actually been recently upgraded with several enchantments to boost its energy and give it an affinity to magic, therefore strengthening any spell casted with it. "This brings back memories," Nia said fondly, as she picked up her mystic weapon, "Dreamscape". The "Dreamscape" was a rapier with a red gem embedded into the center of the hilt, with a yellow gem on the back of the hilt, and a blue gem, a white gem, and a green gem embedded into the length of the blade. The hilt was golden in color, while the blade was a deep magical shade of purple, with a straight, crystal-like texture, and a white colored sheath.

"Alright. Now that all of you have your mystic weapons ready, I've already decided the team who will go down to Sauria. The team will include: Marcus, Nia, Wanko, Kobayashi, Fox, Krystal, and myself," Neo stated. "Why don't we get to come too?" Philip asked, sounding rather disappointed. "Simple. I've already analyzed the energy signature, and I'm positive, that even though rider systems will function down there, unfortunately the atmosphere caused by the partial Dark Hour will cut down the transformation time to 5 minutes at best, and possibly leave the rider system unable to functional for around 2 hours before we can use them again, which is why I can't have you or Shotaro down there, where you two would be terribly weakened. It's too risky right now as we don't know the situation, or what Xeno is planning. As for Nathan and Kelly, due to the atmosphere down there, they won't be able to access anything other than their unarmored forms, not even their weapons. Besides, you 4 are the best choice for emergency situations, so I need the 4 of you to take care of things here in the 'Great Fox X'. I need you 4 to keep watch up here, okay?" Neo stated logically. "Alright," Phillip replied understandingly. "You got it," Shotaro remarked. "Understood," Nathan said. "Roger," Kelly replied.

"One more thing, since regular technology is out, I suggest we dress appropriately for this mission, and by appropriate, I mean clothing and equipment best suited for missions in wild areas," Neo stated. "Sounds good to me. From what I'm hearing, looks like blasters are out," Fox said, earning a nod from his wife and the rest of the team chosen for the mission. At that, Neo smiled, as the team went back to their individual quarters to prepare for the mission to come.

Authors Note:

Done. Took me a while with all the writers block I've been having. R&R


	5. Reminisce, Mission Start

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox or any other series elements featured in this fanfic. Only the story line and the OCs.

Chapter 4: Reminisce, Mission Start

The Starfox X team was busy getting ready for their mission on Sauria. While most of them were busy with their own preparations, some had a little bit more on their minds.

Fox and Krystal were busy packing up anything they probably would have needed, having already had experience on Sauria. "_After all these years, who would have thought I'd have to help save that planet again?_" Fox thought with a chuckle. After all, he had already saved Sauria twice, the first time was when he had to save the planet from literally falling apart, and the second time was when he and his old team had to save it from The Aparoids. The second time didn't have much meaning to him, but the first time was a treasured memory, because the first time... the first time was when he first met Krystal. He would have kept on thinking about the past, if Krystal hadn't picked the time to interrupt his thoughts. "Ready for the mission, Foxy?" she asked from behind him. When Fox turned around, he nearly got a bloody nose when he saw Krystal. She was wearing the same outfit she wore when they had first met, which were the revealing set of a bikini and a loin cloth, with some bits of jewelry, and her staff in its shortened form on her back. Likewise, Fox was wearing the same outfit he had worn during his mission on Sauria, which consisted of a green G-suit, with a water proof flight jacket, a pair of boots, white gloves, and his trade mark red scarf, along with the new addition of his sword strapped to his back.

Noticing the look on her husband's face, Krystal asked, "Something wrong, Fox?" At that, Fox just shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong. Just thinking about the past, since this is where we first met," he said, earning a smile from his wife. "Yeah, it is. Last time I was a damsel in distress, but this time we'll be fighting alongside each other," she said, earning a chuckle from Fox. "Yeah. That would be great," he said, before looking out the window. "We 'disappeared' from the Lylat System 19 years ago. Now we're back, but I never imagined it would be like this. We didn't even get to see Corneria yet," Fox said, sounding rather depressed at the last part. He had been looking forward to seeing his old home again and had wanted to see the look on his old teams' faces when they saw him again. That would have been priceless. "Hey, Fox," Krystal started. "Yeah, Krys?" Fox asked. At that, the couple looked lovingly in each others' eyes, before pulling into a kiss. After a few moments, they broke the kiss, before Krystal spoke gently into Fox's ear, "Even after all we've been through in the last 19 years, I don't regret any of it," she said softly. "Yeah, me neither," Fox replied. Thinking back, despite the hardships they've faced, they didn't regret any of it. Actually, in some ways they were glad those things happened, even that incident that had separated them at first.

_**Flashback start**_

_19 years ago...._

_It had been 2 years since the defeat of the Aparoids and things seemed to have calmed down for now, or so most people thought. The Starfox team had just been assigned with a new mission. "We've gotten reports of a group of pirates in Sector X. Your mission is to route them and retrieve the stolen weapon they've acquired," General Pepper stated. "Roger that General," Peppy said, as the team accepted the mission. "Good. Be careful, the weapon is experimental and highly unstable. One wrong move could set it off, so use extreme caution. Pepper out," General Pepper finished, ending the transmission. _

"_What's he so worried about? It's probably just some group who got lucky. Bet they don't even know what it does," Falco stated with a cocky tone. "Even so, the general did say 'use extreme caution', so I don't think we should take this too lightly," Peppy said. "Experimental and Unstable? Sure sounds dangerous, so I'm with Peppy on this one," Slippy said, sounding slightly frightened. "I agree. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this," Krystal said, expressing her worries, since she honestly did have a very bad feeling, like something bad was going to happen on this mission. "Either way, we'd better get going. The sooner we get this job done, the better. Rob, set a course for Sector X," Fox said. "Affirmative," Rob replied in his usual mechanical voice. The team was immediately headed for their destination, and unknowingly, straight for a tragedy. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_The moment they had entered Sector X, the team were bombarded with an oncoming wave of pirates. Not wasting time, the team immediately entered their individual ships, with Fox in his Arwing II, Falco in his Sky Claw, Slippy in his Bullfrog, and Krystal in her Cloud Runner, while Peppy and Rob remained on The Great Fox II. At first the team seemed to be able to hold them off, until one of the enemy ships came with a strange looking cannon attached to it, before it fired the cannon. The moment the cannon fired, instead of an energy blast, it fired a wave, which caused the Starfox teams' ships to suddenly stop. Taking advantage of the situation, the pirates began encircling the group, ready to finish them off. Fox didn't like the situation one bit. He immediately started trying to get his ship to work again. Looking out, he noticed the enemies charging up their lasers, ready to leave nothing left of Starfox. "I am not going to let any of us wind up dead! I'll die first before that happens, so come on darn it. Work!" he thought, not giving up for even a second. At that moment, he felt a strange sensation, before a light began to glow from within his chest. The light glowed brighter, before it began collecting in his right hand and letting out a blinding light. After the light subsided, in Fox's hand was a sword-sized key. The key was a fiery orange around the blade, whilst the hilt was a deep blue and the teeth of the key were silver, with a straight design. The blade itself had a streamline design, with the hand guard looking like Arwing wings, with a keychain shaped like a Starfox badge. This was the crystallization of Fox's heart. The Keyblade: Blazing Star. Before Fox could even stare at the weapon in his hand, it started to glow, before it unleashed a massive blast of energy. "What the hell? What is this?" The pirate leader said. He was surprised to see the energy that was being released. The energy engulfed everything, but only destroyed the pirates, while leaving anything else completely unharmed. _

_The rest of the Starfox team looked in wonder at what had just happened. They were preparing to regroup, when they realized their missing member. "Wait a minute. Where's Fox?" Krystal exclaimed when she noticed that her lover wasn't present. The group searched the surrounding area, but to their horror, only found parts of Fox's Arwing II. Despite the teams' efforts to locate their missing leader, they never found anything. With heavy hearts, they returned to Corneria with the sad news. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_A few days later...._

_Corneria's side...._

_People say "When it rains, it pours", but it seemed as though the rain was a reflection of the emotions of the many Lylatians. All of them had gathered for the funeral of Fox McCloud. Amongst them, were the remaining members of the Starfox team. The ceremony was followed with many tears, which continued even after it had ended. _

_A few hours after the funeral, Krystal stood by the empty grave. "Why? Why did this happen?" she thought, as tears began to stain her eyes once again. Overcome with grief, her legs gave way, before she found herself weeping at her lover's grave. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_Fox's side....._

_Fox wasn't even sure if he was alive or dead at that moment, but a sharp pain in his side proved to him that it was the former. Opening his eyes, he found himself inside some kind of a cross between a capsule and a hospital bed, with a glass covering just above him. He tried to get up, which was made easier when the glass covering, as though it sensed his awakening, slid down. Fox shakily got up, intending to at least know where he was. However, before he could get a good look around, he was greeted by the voice of a young man. "I see you've woken up," the voice said, even though Fox didn't understand it, as it was in a language that he was unfamiliar with. Looking forward, Fox saw a strange creature. It stood up right like a lylatian, but it didn't have fur, and it didn't have a tail. Instead, it had some sort of skin, with some blonde hair on its head. It wore a white doctor outfit, which gave it the look of a doctor, but that thought was blown out of the picture, by the somewhat insane look on its face, and the skeleton it carried around with it. Fox was about to try running, but the movement didn't escape the odd creature. "Patients shouldn't be running around too much. Isn't that right, Eliza?" the creature said, talking to the skeleton. "This is just great; I must be in some kind of asylum. Only a total nut job would be talking to a skeleton," Fox thought, but he stopped short when he noticed the skeleton starting to glow, before it started moving on its own. "Wha? Either I'm going crazy, or that skeleton is moving," Fox thought, as the skin started growing on the skeleton, before it finally turned into another one of the strange creatures, only this one was female, with a nurse outfit, where the first one was male with a doctor outfit. _

"_Alright you two, we're trying to save lives, not give people heart attacks," a female's voice came from behind the door. It too was speaking in the same unfamiliar language. The door opened to reveal a middle aged woman with long black hair, which was tied in a braid in front of her. She had a gentle look on her face. "Gomen, Unohana-san. We'll just be checking up on the other patients," the first creature said, as he and the second creature left the room. _

_The third creature walked over toward Fox. "I'm terribly sorry for any scares those two gave you," she said, before Fox cut in. "I...can't understand you," he said, now beginning to get annoyed, as it reminded him of the first time he was on Sauria. That time he couldn't understand anyone, but this time, he didn't even have a translator. Seeing his expression, the creature smiled before saying, "But I can understand you just fine," she said, this time using an exact copy of Cornerian language. "You can speak Cornerian?" Fox asked surprised. "Here we call it English, but as long as you can understand what I'm saying, it doesn't matter. Once again, I apologize for any scares Dr. Faust and his wife gave you," she said. "That guy is a doctor here? He looks like a total nut and how in the world did that skeleton start moving? And where is here anyway?" Fox said annoyed, as he was really starting to get annoyed at the situation. The one he was talking to smiled, before she decided to answer his questions. "To begin, allow me introduce myself. My name is Retsu Unohana, and as you could guess, I too am one of the doctors here. First of all, yes, Faust is a doctor here. In fact, he is one of our best doctors here, despite his...appearance. The skeleton you saw was actually the medium for him to materialize the soul of his deceased wife, Eliza. Finally, you are currently in Traverse Town, this town was originally for people who had lost their home world, but now we've converted it to become one of our main bases of operation, while still maintaining its original purpose," she finished. _

_Fox didn't respond. Instead, he just looked at her blankly before saying, "Run that by me again," clearly showing that he didn't understand what she had just said. Unohana simply chuckled at his response. "Don't worry, you're not the only one to not understand that at first," she said reassuringly, before saying, "I'll introduce you to someone who can explain further after you recover," she said, before she moved her hand to Fox's side and began concentrating. Fox blinked in surprise when he noticed Unohana's hand starting to glow, before he felt the pain in his side begin to disappear. "Healers like myself can speed up the rate of healing wounds, but only a few of us can restore a patients strength at the same time, so this will only speed up the healing process by a bit. In the mean time, I suggest you take Faust's advice. Patients should be resting," Unohana said, before she began walking out of the room. Fox blinked slightly for a moment, before deciding to listen to the doctor. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_Fox walked out of the hospital. His injuries had fully recovered and he had been allowed to leave the hospital, despite he hadn't paid for the medical bill, which much to his relief, had been taken care of by someone who had been titled "The Chaotic Unbalance". He looked around with a slightly annoyed look on his face, as the escort he was supposed to get, to meet the person Unohana said would be able to straighten things out for him, seemed to be running late. "Where the heck is this guy, "Makenshi" or something?" Fox said, sounding annoyed. He looked around for a moment, before he heard someone say behind him, "Right here."_

_Fox turned around to see a young man with pale white hair. He wore a white outfit which looked like a cross between a body suit and some kind of loose clothing, with a white cape, and a metal face mask over his mouth, with a sword strapped to his back. "Makenshi, I presume," Fox said, just to make sure this was the right person. "That would be me. Now, follow me," Makenshi said in reply as he began walking toward the direction of the third district, with Fox just following him from behind. _

_The two of them arrived at a wall with a fire symbol on it. Makenshi simply moved his hand over it and it began to glow as if acknowledging him. The wall then moved aside to reveal an open space with a small island surrounded by water. The island had a small house on it, which looked rather old. The two of them made their way across by jumping from rock to rock, before the entered the house from a hole in the side which was covered by a sheet of cloth._

_The inside of the house was cozily furbished, but it didn't seem like anyone was there. "So where is the person I was supposed to meet anyway?" Fox asked, beginning to get impatient. Makenshi didn't reply. Instead, he motioned Fox to stand on a particular part of the floor, before he flipped a hidden switch, causing the floor to descend. Surprised, Fox just watched as the floor now turned platform descended, before it came to a stop. Makenshi then walked down the path right in front of them, with Fox following. When they came to the end of the tunnel, the sight that greeted them left Fox's mouth hanging open."Welcome to the Guardians R&D Laboratories," Makenshi said, slightly amused at Fox's expression. It was an underground laboratory, about the size of a small city. The lab was very futuristic with many holographic monitors and advanced machinery. In fact, it seemed at least a century more advanced than even Corneria. All around, many scientist of various races, most of which Fox had never imagined existed, ran around. Some of them were humans, some of them looked like crosses between lylatians and humans, some of them were frightening in appearance, and some were even large robots. Makenshi lead Fox to a tower structure in the middle of the gigantic laboratory. He then led Fox to a room on the top floor. Inside the room was a chair with a computer, which had a number of holographic screens floating around. Fox's attention was immediately drawn to the person operating the computer. He seemed human, but there was a sort of aura around him that spoke otherwise. "I've brought our guest, Neo," Makenshi said, catching Neo's attention_

_Neo looked up from the screens he was operating and noticed the two visitors. "I see you've brought our guest. Thank you, Kumo," Neo said, referring to Makenshi by his real name. "It was nothing," Makenshi replied coolly. He then turned around and left the room. Fox watched him leave, before turning around to speak with Neo. "I was told you could explain to me what was going on. Where is this place? Or rather, what is this place?" He asked, as his confusion was getting higher and higher. _

_Neo smiled a mysterious smile before he answered, "This place is known as Traverse Town. As for what it is, it is an in-between world. In-between worlds are worlds nestled in between light and darkness. A world of both of them, and neither of them at the same time," Neo stated. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Fox exclaimed, his patients finally running out. "I meant it exactly as I said it. You'll have to take it at that, as there is no other way to say it, and no other way to make it simpler," Neo answered calmly. Fox's brow twitched in irritation as he had been expecting a better answer than what he had gotten. _

_Sensing Fox's irritation, Neo decided to change the subject. "Now then, I think it would be best if we got down to business. Before we begin, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Neo Lumino, and it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Fox (interesting name there),"Neo said pleasantly, before continuing, "We've already salvaged your ship and have finished repairing it," Neo stated. Fox's head shot up when he heard that. "Good. The tracking system and the navigation system can get me back home," he stated confidently. "That would be a problem. Unfortunately, the navigation system and the tracking system had both been completely fried when we salvaged your ship and since we can tell you're not from any of our known worlds, I'm afraid your stuck here until we find your home world, Corneria, and that's also only if we find it," Neo said, instantly smashing the confidence Fox had a moment ago. "Well that's just... Wait! How do you know where I came from?" Fox exclaimed when he realized that Neo had just said the name of his home world. Neo chuckled slightly before he answered the question. "You're not the first Lylatian I've met. We've been looking for Lylat for some time now, as a favor for a friend of mine. What interest me is that you look a lot like him. A spitting image even, if it weren't for your fur color," Neo said, before he decided to change the subject. "Now then, I'm sure you'd like to see your ship. We've already repaired it, and we've gotten some interesting data thanks to it," Neo said with a classic anime smile (the smile where the characters eyes become large upside down U shapes). With that, Neo turned around and left the room, motioning Fox to follow him, which he did. _

_Fox followed Neo down to a hangar and found his Arwing in perfect condition. Heck, it was better than perfect, as Neo told him that as a sort of thanks for the data they had collected, they had taken the liberty of upgrading Fox's Arwing II, into the Arwing Evo (short for Evolution). After that, Fox was sorted out for several things during his indefinite stay. First was a home for him to stay. Fox was sorted out to live in the vacant house under the gizmo shop in the second district (The former Dalmatians' House). After that, Fox had to also get a job for his stay, which he decided to take on the job as a 'Hunter', which was really just hunting down any heartless that might have gotten into Traverse Town, particularly in the 6th district onward, making it not too different from being a mercenary. For that job, in an odd twist, Fox found himself partnered with his former escort, Makenshi. Not that he had any problem with that, especially after he saw Makenshi's skills in fighting, and the Sword Dragons he had in his arsenal. The only thing that bothered Fox slightly, was the fact that 'Parties', as the teams were called, usually consisted of 3 people, while his party only consisted of him and Makenshi. When he asked Neo about that, Neo simply answered that Makenshi's already high level of power made it difficult to find people who could keep up with him, except maybe Makenshi's rival, Kaze, but Kaze was more of a wanderer, so he never stayed put for long. Fox's case was because Fox was still brand new at being both a hunter and a keyblader, so a dependable party member like Makenshi was a must. _

_Three months passed and Fox has progressed quickly in his training. He had already become an advanced class Keyblader in that short time, along with becoming one of the elite hunters. During the time, Neo had given him a present in the form of a sword he had crafted himself, the broadsword named Solar Storm. Initially, Fox couldn't believe that Neo had supposedly used the essence of a sun as the core for the sword, but he wasn't about to argue, since any opponent struck down with the sword often ended up burnt to a crisp. Aside from gaining fame (minus the endless paparazzi, which he was thankful for that), Fox also had a few pleasant surprises. The happiest surprise he had was actually reuniting with his parents, whom he long thought dead, again. At that time, Fox had asked Neo about the other lylatian Neo had mentioned. Neo's only reply was that the lylatian he had referred to had just arrived in town, so Neo suggested that Fox meet him, which Fox agreed to. When Fox and Neo arrived at the agreed location, they were greeted by two people in hoods, but for some reason, something seemed familiar about them to Fox. Noticing this, Neo turned toward them and asked, "Fox here seems to recognize you two. Does the same apply in reverse?" he asked. The reply he got was "You could say that," before the two lowered their hoods, to reveal two all too familiar lylatians. _

"_Mom? Dad?" Fox asked, not believing what he was seeing. After the initial shock, James explained to his son just how it was possible for the two of them to be here. It turned out that after his death, James was found to have the qualities necessary and was revived as a rebirth, just like Neo, who at the time, couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Fox's face (can't really blame Fox, as rebirths had already been through death at least once). Vixy's case was a special one, as it turned out that she had been brought back as a way of saying thanks to James. In order for that to happen, what was summoned was only Vixy's soul, while Neo had been requested to prepare a gigai (artificial body) for her soul, which he did, giving Vixy a 'second life' of sort. In the end, Fox honestly didn't care how his parents came back from the dead, but he was overjoyed to be reunited with them, but even with the many good things that had happened, Fox still wanted to go back to Lylat, and back to Krystal, the vixen he loved._

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_Corneria_

_It had been three months since Fox's supposed death. Life in Corneria had pretty much gone back to normal for most people. The Star Fox team still held together, if not by thin threads. The reason for that was because despite seeming like they had also moved on, all of them, especially Krystal were still grieving over Fox's supposed death. In fact, she also had some annoying moments after the incident, with one of them including a run in with Star Wolf, which ended with all three members ending up needing to be hospitalized for a month due to broken bones, ribs, arms, legs, and a broken skull. They had ended up like that because Wolf had taunted something about Fox being weak to have 'died' that easily, while Panther actually had the nerve to try flirting with Krystal, possibly hoping to win her over while she was still mourning over Fox's supposed death. The result was Krystal actually going medieval on the entire Star Wolf team, graphically snapping both Wolf's and Panther's bones, with Leon getting his beating for trying to stop the 'berserk' vixen. _

_Aside from the visible tension on them, the team remained more or less the same, with Peppy still being the strategist, Slippy being the mechanic, Falco being their best pilot, and Krystal being the telepath. _

_The day had started very similarly to the day that passed 3 months ago, with the team once again receiving a new mission from Corneria. The team had set out to investigate an odd energy signature at the appointed location. What they didn't realize was that the event about to take place would set in motion both the disbanding of Starfox and the reuniting of two lovers. _

_Arriving at the location, it turned out remnants of The Venomian had intended to harness the energy source. What ensued was an all out fight between the Star Fox team against the remnants of Venom's army. At first, the team held their ground, even gaining an upper hand. However, despite being remnants, it turned out that Venom had already harnessed a fraction of the energy source, using it in a shockwave that badly damaged the teams' ships. Once again finding themselves in a desperate situation, Krystal couldn't help but think about Fox at that moment. She nearly gave in to despair, but was stopped when an image of Fox appeared in her mind. Although the image strangely seemed confused of finding itself in the position, it nevertheless encouraged her not to give up, renewing her courage. "That's right. Either way, I will not allow anything to happen to anyone," she thought with strong determination. Suddenly, she felt an odd sensation around her chest, followed by a bright glow coming out of her chest. It glowed incredibly bright, before it subsided. When the light had finished dissipating, Krystal could only stare in awe at the item in her hand. It was a key shaped sword. It was the crystallization of her heart. The keyblade: Corona's Light. The keyblade was sleek in appearance, with it being mostly silver in color, with the hand guard being gold with a crystalline appearance. The teeth of the keyblade were deep blue with small glows that looked almost like stars in the night sky, with it being a wavy shape and the keychain looking like a Starfox badge made out of crystal. _

_Immediately after that, the keyblade emitted an incredibly bright light. The same bright light Krystal recognized as the one that came from Fox's Arwing right before he disappeared. The light enveloped everything, once again destroying all threats to its owner, but leaving all her friends unscathed. However, before the light faded, Krystal began hearing a voice in her head, asking her a question. "Do you wish to be reunited with the one you love?" it asked. At first Krystal didn't know what to make of it, but as it got fainter along with the light subsiding, she immediately answered "Yes!" "Then it shall be done," was the reply she got, as the light once again enveloped her and her Cloud Runner. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_Traverse Town_

_Fox suddenly shot up from his bed. "What was that? Did I really see all that happen?" he thought, as his mind wandered back to his dream. It felt so real. One moment he was in his own dream, and the next moment he sees his old team in trouble. The only thing he could do at that moment was encourage Krystal, as she was the only one who seemed to notice he was there. The last thing he saw was a large burst of light, which Fox immediately identified as an awakening burst, which was one of the standard abilities of a keyblade. _

_He got ready for another day, though he still found it strange that it was always night in Traverse Town, but he had to admit, the nightscape suited the town better than a sunny day. He was preparing to leave, but was stopped when his keyblade appeared in his hand. Surprised that the thing had appeared in his hand without him summoning it, Fox was about to dismiss his keyblade, when it 'spoke' to him. It showed him a vision of an all too familiar ship which was floating around aimlessly in interspace, with its unconscious pilot. "Krystal!" Fox thought when he realized what his keyblade was showing him. _

_Forgetting about his job, he immediately ran toward the direction of the town's ship hangar, which was located in the first district. Along the way he accidentally ran into another hunter, a recent recruit who called himself 'The Fullmetal Alchemist'. "Oi! Watch where you're going!" he exclaimed. Fox barely paid any attention to him, as his thought were on Krystal, but he did spare a moment to apologize. "Sorry about that. No time to deal with you today Edward," he said as he ran off, leaving one very confused Edward Elric. "What's his hurry?" he thought before shrugging it off to continue on his way. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_When Fox arrived at the ship hangar, he immediately jumped into his Arwing and initiated launch sequence. "Coordinates set. Dimension gate engaged. All systems Green. Arwing, shoot," the computers stated, immediately sending Fox and his Arwing through the gate, toward his destination. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_Krystal was barely conscious when she had first arrived. Now she was beginning to wonder if by 'reuniting' with Fox, it meant she was going to die. "Fox...." she thought, finally falling unconscious. At that moment, the gate opened and Fox's Arwing shot out of the dimension gate. Seeing Krystal's damaged Cloud Runner, Fox immediately engaged a connector beam, which connected the Cloud Runner to the Arwing Evo. Making sure that the Cloud Runner was properly connected, Fox immediately steered both ships back through the Dimension gate, and back to Traverse Town. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

"_I wonder where Fox ran off to," Nathan said, as he and Makenshi had been checking around for Fox. Nathan Lumino, Neo's artificial son and net navi, didn't really have anything much to do that day, so he had agreed to be Fox and Makenshi's third party member for the day, but they couldn't really be a three member party if they were missing a member. "You're looking for McCloud-san?" came a voice from behind them. Turning around, they were face-to-face with another hunter team, which called themselves the 'Alchemic Innocence'. "Yes we are. Have you seen him?" Makenshi asked politely. "Not really. Neither me nor Al here have seen him," the boy with white hair, Allen Walker, said, indicating both himself and the one that looked like he was wearing a suit of armor, Alphonse Elric. "Yeah, but I think nii-san said something about bumping into Fox-san earlier," Alphonse said, indicating his older brother. Edward sighed slightly as he was still annoyed with the encounter, before answering, "Yeah. He bumped into me earlier. I think he was headed for the hangar."_

"_Alright. Much appreciated," Makenshi replied, as he walked off toward the hangar. "I wonder where Fox was headed to have to rush to the hangar without even letting us know first." Nathan thought, as he and Makenshi approached the hangar. What they hadn't expected, was Fox walking out of the hangar, with an unconscious vixen in his arms. Surprised, the two of them approached Fox and asked him to explain, which he did. "Interesting, that's a very rare occurrence. I'll tell dad about that, and he'll look into it, but I think we should get her treated immediately," Nathan said, before a flash of light came out of his eyes, as he scanned the unconscious vixen. "She doesn't seem too badly injured, so I don't think there's any need for a hospital. Just take her somewhere she can rest for now," Nathan finished, as he immediately turned and headed for his father's laboratory to report to his father on what had happened between Fox and his keyblade. Fox just nodded in response, before heading back to his house, with Krystal still unconscious in his arms. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_Krystal woke up slowly. Looking around, she found herself in a comfortably furnished room. "Where am I?" she thought. Looking down, she noticed someone had bandaged the wounds she had sustained when her ship had been damaged. She carefully got up and began walking around, if not shakily. She thought she heard someone from the room ahead of her, but as she opened the door, her weakened body lost its balance. She would have hit the floor if not for someone catching her just before she fell. _

"_You okay, Krys?" came an all too familiar voice. Barely daring to hope, Krystal looked up to the person who had caught her and was overjoyed to see Fox. "Fox!" she cried happily, nearly pouncing on him. "Woah! Easy there, Krystal," Fox laughed, as he straightened himself up. He too was overjoyed to see her again. After moving Krystal back to the bed, Fox sat by her side. The both of them looked into each other's eyes lovingly, both feeling happier than ever to be reunited. After a moment, Krystal looked down before asking the question she had on her mind. "What happened to you? You just disappeared like that. We....I thought you had died," she said, sadly remembering the time she had thought Fox was dead. Fox looked away sadly for a moment. "I didn't want to just disappear like that. I asked a friend of mine here to look into it, and he said it was actually an accident. Awakening Bursts aren't supposed to do that, but it was just bad luck that the machine those pirates used had 'distorted' the space and because of that, the Awakening Burst I used tore right through it and landed me here," he said, before adding "But that doesn't matter anymore. I'm just happy to see you again," he finished with a comforting smile. Krystal just smiled, before the two pulled into a deep passionate kiss. Yes. Everything that happened in the past didn't matter anymore to the couple. All that mattered was that they were reunited. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_A month later....._

_Wedding bells rang out. The sound they made held a sort of beauty, because they symbolized the joining of hands in the sacred ceremony of marriage. At the source of the bells, in the church of the fifth district, the newlywed couple, Fox and Krystal McCloud, walked out from the church together. Following them was a crowd of friends and family, with the most noticeable being Neo who they had somehow persuaded into being the 'priest' (Neo commented something which sounded like 'I'm a Darkstalker for heaven's sake'), Fox's parents who had come to watch their son's wedding (James smiled happily for his son, while Vixy said something about her son being all grown up) and even the Neo Celestial Seven had attended the wedding, with their keyblades raised in salute. _

_Fox and Krystal arrived at the hangar. Although he had promised his friend Tricky that he and Krystal would be spending their honeymoon on Tricky's home planet, Sauria. But since there was no guarantee they would even return to Lylat, they figured they could have their honeymoon here. They had decided to have their honeymoon as a trip to see several of the many worlds throughout the alliance. Once they got into the ship, the launch sequence was initiated and the ship was flying shortly after. Looking into each others' eyes, the couple shared another passionate kiss. They had gone through so many hardships, but they had finally arrived in this time and period, where they were happily married to one another, ready to face and embrace their future together. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_1 year later...._

_A baby's cries filled the room. Krystal was gently caressing the newborn kit in her arms, as Fox held her while smiling happily at the baby. The baby looked exactly like his father, down to both his eyes and the patch of white fur on his head, with the only difference being that he had his mother's blue fur. "You know. We haven't picked out a name for him yet," Fox said, chuckling slightly as he remembered the trouble they had gone through to unsuccessfully pick out a name for their newborn son. "How about Marcus?" Krystal said, hoping they would finally agree on the name. "Marcus, huh. Marcus it is," Fox said in agreement. _

_So it was agreed. On that day, Marcus James McCloud was born into the world. However, aside from his name, he also had another name for a project he was part of. Project Genetically Enhanced Neo Existence, Project G.E.N.E. Marcus McCloud: The Second G.E.N.E._

_**Flashback end**_

The couple smiled at each other, as they finished recalling all the events that led up to where they were now. A family. A husband, a wife, and their teenage son.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

Neo drenched his face in the sink. Despite never showing it, the dhampir actually worried about a lot of things, especially when it concerned fighting Xeno Lumino. He wasn't afraid of fighting Xeno, but he often worried when it involved others besides himself, and those worries often took a toll on him at times, but he was just glad that all the mental training he had undergone in his years had allowed him to completely push aside his emotions during battle.

Looking down at the back of his left hand, he looked at the crown shaped mark. The mark was no ordinary mark, but actually the proof of a rebirth and a constant reminder of how he had been given his new destiny. Sighing slightly, he walked back to his desk, and sorted through some files. Among the files were some of the research notes on the progress of Project G.E.N.E.

Genetically Enhanced Neo Existence. That was the name of the project Neo had started to strengthen any willing members, or at least that was the initial plan. The project itself was really just a serum which would be injected to the user. What happened next was that the DNA was supposed to mix with the user's own DNA and grant them enhanced abilities. The only problem was that due to the fact that the body would eventually reject the foreign DNA, so using it on anyone other than an unborn child would certainly result in the person crumbling to dust after a few years.

As a result, right now there were only 4 people who had become GENEs. They were Marcus McCloud (the second GENE), Wanko Sano (the third GENE), Kobayashi Ueki (the fourth GENE), and finally his own daughter, Nia Lumino (The first GENE). Sorting through the files, he came upon an old photo which made him smile. It was a group shot of the team when they had first began their training to control their powers. Putting it down, he looked out the window, whilst reminiscing about the past.

_**Flashback start**_

_Traverse Town, 14 years ago...._

"_Daddy, where are we going?" Nia asked innocently, as her father led her through the town. "You know how you have special powers that almost nobody else has, right?" Neo asked her, with a gentle smile on his face. "Yeah, but I wanna know where we're going," she said, not really understanding why her father had just asked that. "Well, we're going to the place daddy prepared so people like you can learn to control your power," Neo said gently. "Wow! Are there others like me?" Nia asked excitedly. Neo chuckled in response to his daughter's enthusiasm. "Yes there are. There are 3 others, but you're only going to meet one of them, because the other two are still too young," Neo said. Nia pouted slightly, before she asked "Do you think I'll be able to get along with them?" "Oh, I know you'll get along just fine with the one we're going to meet today. Actually you already know him," Neo replied, which made Nia's head shoot up as she asked "I do?" Neo chuckled again as he reassuringly said "You'll see," before adding, "We're here," as they stopped in front of a daycare like building. _

_Nia walked into the building accompanied by her father. The inside seemed like a regular daycare, or at least that was the case before Neo flipped a switch, and a trap door opened to reveal a slide. Nia looked slightly unsure, before Neo picked her up and jumped down the slide. "Wahooooo!" both father and daughter let out a yell, as they slid down the slide. They slid down a long way, before finally coming out of the slide and landing on a soft mattress. "Wow. That was fun. Let's do that again, daddy," Nia said happily. "Glad you like it, because you're probably going to do that every time you come here," Neo said, glad that his daughter enjoyed the entrance feature. _

_Nia walked around, looking forward to seeing the person she was supposed to meet. Unfortunately, she wasn't looking where she was going and ended up bumping right into the person. "Aoi-chan?" Nia asked, referring to the blue fox kit, Marcus, with the silly pet name she liked to call him. "Nia?" Marcus asked surprised to see his best friend. "Surprise you two. We never told you, but both of you are what we call GENEs. Genetically Enhanced Neo Existences," Neo said from behind him, as Fox and Krystal arrived into the room, following their son. "Sorry we never told you earlier, but we thought it was best that we kept it secret until both of you were old enough to begin your training," Neo finished, sounding somewhat apologetic to both his daughter and Marcus. "Don't worry about it too much, Neo. We all agreed on this, so no need to apologize," Krystal said gently, while Fox nodded in agreement. _

_Nia and Marcus spent the rest of the day practicing in their control over their powers. "Wow, Marcus! You're really strong," Nia called out cheerfully when she saw her friend easily lift a weight of 100 Kg. "You really think so?" Marcus asked her, blushing slightly. "Yeah!" Nia said happily, before giggling slightly at her friend. She turned around to go to her training and also to hide her blush. It was official. Though the two hadn't realized it, but something was starting between the two. _

_Nia's exercises consisted of an odd game of blind hide and seek. For her exercise, she had to find only Marcus amongst the many drones that were placed in the rooms. The point of the exercise was to teach her to be able to differentiate between one thing and another, while she was using her power. "No. No. No. Found you!" Nia cried cheerfully when she was finally able to find Marcus without getting mixed up with the drones. _

_Neo smiled slightly at the sight. "Marcus is improving fast. And so is Nia," he said. "Yes he is," Krystal said with a hint of pride at her son's progress in a single day. "In two years, all of the GENEs will be a team, right?" Fox asked, remembering the plan that Neo had told them. "That's right," Neo answered with a smile. He truly was looking forward to seeing the new generation grow. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_2 years later...._

"_Wahoo!" Nia and Marcus (both now 6 years old) called out, as they slid down the slide again. When they reached the end of the slide, they were surprised when they landed in a small tree. "I don't remember this being here yesterday," Macus said, slightly surprised. "Maybe daddy put this here," Nia said, though why her father would do that was beyond her. "Actually, one of your new teammates was responsible for that," came a voice. Both of them looked forward to find out that the source of the voice was none other than Nia's mother. "Mommy!" Nia cried happily when she saw her mother. Anita chuckled slightly as her daughter ran up to her. "I'll be helping with some lessons for you today, Nia. Your father is busy with the other two GENEs," she said, which caught Marcus's attention. "Other GENEs?" he asked. "Yes. The last two GENEs and your new teammates. We hope you get along," Anita said, as she led the two to the main room. _

_When they got to the main room, they noticed Neo with Marcus's parents, 4 other adults (all of them seemed human), and two boys (both seemed human), one a year younger than them, with straight red hair, and the other one two years younger than them, with spiky green hair. "Alright. Now that everyone's here, I think we should leave them be," Neo said to the other adults, which received nods from all of them. They proceeded to leave, but not before each parent gave their respective children a hug and told them to 'play nice'. The four kids looked at each other, before getting to know each other. _

"_Hi, I'm Nia. Nia Lumino, and this is Marcus," Nia said, before adding with a sly smile, "but I like to call him Aoi-chan,"she finished with a laugh. Marcus sighed slightly. He honestly didn't mind Nia calling him that, but it did get embarrassing when she just said it like that. "As Nia's already said, my name's Marcus. Marcus McCloud. It's nice to meet you," Marcus said, cracking a smile. The boy with red hair didn't answer immediately, but instead seemed rather uncertain of them, while the boy with spiky green hair answered almost immediately. "Hi! I'm Kobayashi. Kobayashi Ueki, and this is Wanko," Kobayashi said energetically. Wanko just sighed slightly at the sudden introduction. "Like Kobayashi said, I'm Wanko Sano," he said, though not sounding too enthusiastic. _

_Just out of earshot, their parents watched them interact. "Well, Nia and Marcus seem to be getting along just fine with Kobayashi, but is there a reason why Wanko doesn't seem like he wants to talk to them?" Neo asked curiously to Wanko's parents, Seichiro and Rinko. "We're not too sure. Wanko just has a hard time opening up to people," Rinko replied. "In fact, other than us, Kobayashi was the first person to get through to him," Seichiro finished with a shrug. Krystal and Anita seemed to be in a small conversation. Both of them had picked up on Wanko's uncertainty, but they were sure they knew the remedy for that type of uncertainty. "Actually, just give them some time to get to know each other, and Wanko will probably open up to them," Krystal said. Neo thought about it for a moment, before answering "Alright, I think it might just work." _

_Back with the four of them, they had already started, by showing off their powers. Nia made several items, including a few statues and crystals made out of light. "How's this? I can make anything out of light and my GENE ability lets me sense things from miles away," she stated, before one on her crystals was shattered completely, while the wall behind it was given a new dent by Marcus's fist. "My GENE ability gives me super strength, and I'm also telepathic, so don't try to hide anything from me," Marcus said, with a somewhat smug look on his face. "Wow! That's cool senpais, but see what I can do," Kobayashi said, before he pulled out some trash from his pocket, clenched his fist, and a green light emitted from inside his fist, before he opened it up again and a tree sprung out of it. "I can turn trash into trees," he said, before he called out "Kurogane!" and the tree turned into a cannon made of wood, which fired a cannon ball that looked like it was also made of wood. "And I can use my sacred treasures, but I'm only 2 stars right now," he added, but failed to notice a small piece of debris flying toward him, before he had a small cut on his arm. Nia was about to try some healing magic on it, but the wound closed seconds after it happened. Kobayashi just smiled at that before saying "My GENE ability lets me heal a lot faster than regular people."Wanko was watching his new friends, before deciding to join in. He pulled out a towel, waved it a bit, before it turned into a sheet of steel. "I can turn towels into steel," he said, before pulling out a bead, and flicked it toward a wall, where it promptly exploded on contact. "I can also turn beads into bombs, and my GENE ability makes me super smart," he added, before scribbling out a complex formula on the floor to prove his point. _

_The four of them continued to get to know each other. Before long, all four of them, even Wanko had pretty much considered each other as their good friends. Seeing this, Neo smiled gently. "I think we have a winning team here," he thought, not realizing just how right he was going to be. "Looks like they've really started to bond with each other," Anita said at the sight of her daughter's interaction with the rest of them. "Yeah. Just hope they won't have the problems our team had," Fox said, remembering the times his old team nearly disbanded because of various personal issues. "Somehow, I don't think that will be a problem," Neo replied, before adding, "Don't forget, they won't have to go through what your team went through, and I'm sure growing up together will certainly help strengthen that bond," he finished. "Well, I hope your right," Krystal said, clearly not wanting her son or any of them to have to go through what she and Fox went through as they were growing up. Putting thoughts of the future aside, they continued to watch as their children continued to bond as both friends and as a newly formed team. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_8 years later...._

_Neo walked toward the training area. With him was a middle sized case, with a contents he just hoped wasn't about to do what he thought it wanted to do. Reaching the training area, he jumped down the slide, while hanging on to the case. "Is this really what I should be doing?" he thought to himself. "Sure they seem to have a high compatibility, they work together well, and it's an incredible coincidence that they would cause these four to react to them, but this isn't just some assignment. If they prove to be compatible, then the life of a Rider is inevitable," he thought as he reached the room where the four GENEs had been busy training. _

"_Dad?" Nia (now age 14) asked, surprised to see her father. "Mr. Lumino, what a surprise," Kobayashi (Now age 12) said cheerfully, though they weren't expecting to see him today. Neo tried to smile, but the fact of what he was carrying could just change their lives forever made him feel uneasy. "Is something wrong, ?" Marcus (Now also age 14) asked when he noticed the look on Neo's face and the case he was carrying. "Actually, there is...," Neo replied uneasily, before he motioned for them to stand in a row. After they had done that, Neo carefully opened the case to reveal 4 belts. The four GENEs gasped in surprise when they saw the belts. "Are those....?" Wanko(Now age 13) started, but before he could finish, the four belts glowed, before they practically jumped at the four surprised GENEs. They didn't even get a chance to react when a belt had wrapped itself around each of their waist. Immediately, 4 sets of cards appeared and circled each of them, before 1 card from each set, all four of them being the Ace of the set stopped, before inserting themselves into the belts, or in Nia's case, swiped itself on the belt. _

"_Turn Up!"_

"_Turn Up!" _

"_Open Up!" _

"_Change!"_

_Came four mechanical voices from the belts, as three of them ejected energy fields, which came back and passed over Marcus, Wanko, and Kobayashi, while Nia was covered in an energy field. When the fields disappeared, the four of them were donned in the armor of the four Kamen Riders of the rouse cards, Kamen Riders Blade, Garren, Leangle, and Chalice. _

"_No way, rider armor!" Kobayashi called out with a mix of surprise and excitement. Marcus, Nia, and Wanko were speechless about the reality, but one could sense the excitement they felt. It wasn't a surprise, as the kamen riders, though small in numbers, were elite members of the guardians, so much so, that they were trusted almost without question because of their loyalty. _

_Neo smiled at their enthusiasm, but sighed not long after that. "I'm glad you like them, but if it were up to me, you wouldn't have gained those powers," he said, somewhat saddened. "Why's that, dad?" Nia asked, surprised at her father's attitude. Neo smiled sadly before answering, "The moment someone is chosen by the power of a rider, their fates become one of a kamen rider, an uncertain fate," he said, before sighing slightly and adding, "But if the four of you want to walk down this path, I guess there's no stopping it, so you might as well get the hang of it," he finished. _

_Neo then motioned to someone just out of view. "So were up, huh?" came a female voice. The voice sounded rather perky and somewhat childish, despite clearly belonging to a young woman. "Well, we might as well have some fun while we're at it," came the voice of a young man. The voice sounded oddly energetic and a bit hyper. "But don't overdo it okay, there still beginners," came the voice of another young woman. Unlike the first, this one seemed more mature and sensible than the first one. "So I guess were stuck babysitting them, huh. Oh well, let's do this then," came the voice of another young man. Unlike the first one, this one was clearly the leader of the group, as his voice radiated strength, maturity, and leadership. _

_Four figures walked out of the shadows. The leader of the group was a young man, 18 years of age. He had spiky silver hair, which he had allowed to grow till it had reached shoulder length, with emerald green eyes. His attire consisted of a pair of long pants (the type used by martial artist), along with a training gi which was slightly covered by a gray jacket which had his team's emblem on the back (AN: I'll explain what the emblem looks like later). The girl next to him who seemed 2 years younger than him had a long 'mane' of sky blue hair, along with deep blue eyes. Her attire consisted of a pair of jeans, and a loose T-shirt which was covered by a similar jacket like the first one, only her jacket was blue. The second man in the group seemed about the same age as the first one, but he had bright blonde hair, which he had kept in a rather messy style. He had a goofy grin on his face, which really lit up his deep brown eyes. His attire consisted of an under shirt and a pair of track pants, and he also wore a yellow version of his team's jacket, with the emblem on his right shoulder instead of on his back. The last member of the group was a young woman with light brown eyes which shone out under her long straight red hair. She wore a pink dress which resembled one that a musician would wear during a performance, though it seemed odd due to the fact that she also wore a red variation of her team's jacket, with the emblem on the front left of her jacket (think where she could pin a rose or something). _

"_So we're up against the Star Hunter team. Bring it on," Marcus said, readying his Blade Rouser. "No need to hold back Cousin Aaron, Cousin Rose," Nia said, summoning the Chalice arrow. "Awww, we get to fight veteran riders on our first fight. I'm honored," Wanko said, readying his Garren Rouser. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's blow em away," Kobayashi said, already ready to fight. Seeing their reactions, Aaron Talbain smirked slightly. "So the noobs are ready for a fight? In that case, show them no mercy guys," Aaron said, crossing his arms in preparation to transform. "Let's start up this party," Rose Talbain said, pulling out her advent deck. "Think you can keep up?" Jack Runner said, as he summoned his zecter. "What song shall I play?" Lia Melody said, revealing her whistle, which she immediately blew on, causing it to vibrate. _

_With a cry of "Henshin!" the Star Hunter team transformed into their rider forms, and the two teams fought, both sides intending to win. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_2 years later...._

_Neo looked up at the ship he had recently finished building. The 'Great Fox X', a ship built in the likeness of the original Great Fox, was about to take its first flight. Inside the ship was the newly formed Starfox X, with its original members ready for their first mission. Neo sighed slightly as the engines ignited, and the ship took off into the distance. Sure he was proud of them, but even then, he worried about them, but it was their choice, so all he could do now was support them in any way he could. Walking away, he couldn't help but smile slightly. "I'm proud of you. All of you," he thought before returning to his lab, wishing the best of luck to the team. _

_**Flashback end**_

Neo just smiled as he finished reminiscing. Even though he still worried about them, but even then, they had proven themselves time and time again. To Neo they really were what they called themselves. Starfox X. A Starfox like no other.

Neo just smiled, as he quickly snapped his fingers, changing his usual coat into a simple shirt and long pants (A/N: think Syaoran from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles), which were covered by a traveler's hooded cape. "Well then...Xeno had better be ready for us," he thought, readying himself for the battle to come.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

Nia and Marcus were both busy preparing, or rather Nia had already finished and had decided to check up on Marcus, who had just finish packing, but at the cost of his room looking like a tornado hit it. Marcus was wearing a blue and silver variation of his father's current clothes, with his g-suit being blue, and his spade symbols on his gloves, though he didn't bother with a scarf, he also had his katana attached to his belt. Nia was wearing a similar version of her father's choice of clothing, with her sleeveless shirt being black instead of white, and her travelers cloak being a light purple color. "You never change, do you?" Nia asked, chuckling slightly. "Yeah, well it wouldn't be me if I did," Marcus shot back, causing both of them to laugh. Looking out the window slightly, Nia started remembering about the past, when she asked, "Hey Aoi-chan. Do you remember when we first met?" Marcus turned red at the question, before replying "How could I forget? You pulled my tail, remember?" in a rather annoyed voice, which caused Nia to turn red. "W-well, it was an accident, and I was only 2 back then, so how was I supposed to know that tail was attached to you?" Nia replied rather frantically. Marcus laughed at how flustered he had made his best friend. Looking back, both of them really liked one another. It was a real crush even, but both of them just didn't have the guts to admit it. At least not yet.

Looking at each other, they started to remember how they had gotten where they were.

_**Flashback start**_

_Traverse Town, 16 years ago...._

_Nia Lumino (age 2) walked around the counter of the accessory shop her father ran. She had noticed her father talking to someone else, but what really caught her attention was the blue piece of fluff which was just outside the counter. Curious, she reached for it, and without a thought, grabbed and pulled it out of curiosity. _

_Marcus McCloud (age 2) wasn't really thinking of anything. He had followed his parents to the big house they were in. After they arrived, his parents had started talking to the owner of the building about something he didn't understand. Bored, he just stood around the counter, absently moving his tail around, until he set it down near the counter. That was a moment ago, but now he was yelping in pain when he suddenly felt something grab his tail, and pull it....hard. _

_Nia was surprised to suddenly hear a yelp when she had pulled, but even more was that she was promptly pulled along, when whatever was attached to the thing she had pulled jumped forward and pulled her along as well. She tumbled forward, letting go of the thing she had pulled, only to find herself facing a blue furred fox boy, who was painfully holding on to his tail. At that Nia could only sweat drop. _

_After a quick explanation, and a lot of apologizing, Marcus finally calmed down, though his tail still hurt. "Gomen. I really didn't know that was your tail," Nia said apologetically, while offering a bag of ice as a sort of 'peace offering'. Marcus only nodded painfully, before accepting the bag of ice for his tail. "I'm Nia. What's your name?" Nia asked politely. "Marcus. My name's Marcus," Marcus replied. "Marcus? That's a hard name," Nia said, seemingly having trouble remembering Marcus's name, before getting a mischievous look on her face and saying, "I'll just call you Aoi-chan, since your blue," she said with a laugh. Marcus just looked at her blankly. _

_A few days later, the two of them had gotten to know each other over time, and had quickly become good friends. It wasn't long before they became best friends, especially after they learned that they were both G.E.. It didn't seem like much, but it would become a friendship that would endure for a life time. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_8 years later...._

"_Hyaah! We're the new hero team, and we're going to beat the evil minions," Kobayashi (age 8) called out, before he, Wanko (age 9), Marcus (age 10), and Nia (age 10) charged right at Nathan and Kelly, only for the two to easily push them away, sending them tumbling back, and their toy weapons falling right into Kelly's hand. "I think the town needs new heroes," Nathan laughed, before helping the four children up. The two siblings could only chuckle at how their younger sister and her three friends were acting. It wasn't surprising that they would act that way, since heroes weren't exactly uncommon in the world they lived in. "Well, maybe were not heroes yet, but heroes never give up! Let's go everyone," Marcus called out, as the four of them got up and charged at Nathan and Kelly, though what happened next was still more or less the same. _

_Nathan and Kelly could only laugh at how enthusiastic the four of them were. It really wasn't a secret to the two of them why the four friends wanted to be heroes. All four of them had a sort of legacy as their parents had all been heroes. Nia of course, being the daughter of the great Neo Lumino, had always heard and known tales of her father's adventures, starting from his adventures as a child, until after he had become a rebirth at the age of 11, and more importantly, his role in the founding of 'The Guardians'. Marcus had grown up on tales of his family's legacy, from his grandfather's tales in the original Starfox, followed by the stories of his own parents when they were members of the second Starfox. Heck, it wouldn't have been a surprise if Marcus grew up to lead his own team. Kobayashi had grown up with a father who always thought him to have a strong sense of justice, which was added by the fact that he had been named after the man who had thought his father to have that sense of justice. Wanko wasn't too different from Kobayashi, since their parents were old friends, and also the same team that had protected the blank talent from falling into the wrong hands. In short, the four of them were four kids with the dream of following in their parents' footsteps. All that was certain was that when these kids got there, they were willing to help these four the whole way. _

_--------------------------------------------__Starfox X__------------------------------------------------------__-------_

_6 years later...._

_Marcus (age 16) walked up toward the cockpit. "All systems are green," Nathan stated. "No abnormalities detected," Kelly said, as both she and her brother finished scanning the newly built 'Great Fox X'. Marcus nodded in response. It had only been a few months ago, that he, Nia, Wanko, and Kobayashi agreed to form a new Starfox team. Not long after that, Neo had agreed to build a new version of the original 'Great Fox', along with Nathan and Kelly agreeing to join the group. As a bonus, Neo also gave the team special weapons, made just for them. Marcus was given a katana called the Raikouken, which had the ability to manipulate and summon lightning or any other electric based attack. Nia was given a rapier called the Dreamscape, which had the ability to cast illusions, and manipulate an opponent's thoughts. Kobayashi was given a cross pike called the Frozen Root, which had the ability to control both ice and wood. And last, but not least, Wanko was given a special gun called the E-Magnum, with several cartridges of elemental bullets, making the weapon quite diverse. That was only a few months ago, and now they were already ready for their first mission. "Alright everyone, let's do our best," Nia (age 16) said, readying herself for the mission. "Ready whenever," Wanko said, loading his new gun with fire bullets. "Your orders, Marcus," Kobayashi said, sounding as energetic as always. Marcus nodded in response. "Alright everyone, let's give it everything we've got! Starfox X, roll out!" Marcus called out to his team. "Ryokai!" his team called out in response, as they were blasted off to their destination. _

_Their first mission was a simple capture mission to capture a few thieves. The team made short work of them, and delivered the thieves to Neo's desk, with all of them seeing stars by the time they got there. In about as short as a year, the team had built their fame, almost rivaling the Star Hunter team. During the time, the group had gained two new members. The first was Shotaro Hidari, the self proclaimed 'hard-boiled' detective from a recently discovered world, known as Futo (wind city). Along with Shotaro, was his partner, Raito, whom although had finally remembered his real name, preferred to be called Philip. Both of them had the ability to use the Double Driver, which allowed them to become a new rider known as Kamen Rider Double. And now, another year passed, and the group was ready for their next mission. _

_**Flashback end**_

Marcus smiled slightly at the memory. "Alright then, let's go out there and teach Xeno a lesson he'll never forget," Marcus said, immediately running out the door. Nia immediately followed him, whilst calling out, "I'm right behind you Marcus," she called out, before mentally adding, "_Now and always_," following her friend to the bridge.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright then, the Arwings are ready to withstand the atmosphere, so we won't have to worry about them shutting down on us. I knew it was a good idea to build these things with more magic-tech than normal-tech," Neo muttered to himself as he watched the finishing touches on the recustomized Arwing Xs. Turning around, he noticed the rest of the exploration team entering the room (Nathan and Kelly had been helping him on the customizing, while Shotaro had been watching stars go by, and Philip was practically raring to get a look at the surface of the rapidly approaching Sauria). "We're already in range, so we can start the mission anytime," Neo stated, before raising an eyebrow when he noticed Krystal's choice of clothing, before he simply shrugged it off.

The team was quickly ready in their ships. "The gate's already open. We should be able to give you a direct path down, so there shouldn't be a problem," Nathan said, as the team took off. Flying right through the dimension gate that had opened, they were immediately in Sauria's atmosphere, and quickly approached Thorn Tail Hollow.

--------------------------------------------Starfox X-------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Krazoa Palace, Sauria....

A Krazoa spirit floated out of its shrine, and flew straight toward the person that had passed its test. Before it could reach the person however, it was caught in a field of darkness. Stepping out of the shadows, the person, or rather people, revealed to be a fox and a vixen. "You're not going anywhere. At least not until you've been corrupted," said the fox. He looked a lot like Fox, right down to outfit and mohawk, but the difference was in his fur and his eyes. Where Fox had orange fur, this fox was a darker, almost black shade of orange. His eyes were also a frightening shade of yellow, where Fox's eyes were a deep green color. "Master Xeno will be pleased," the vixen said with an evil chuckle. She looked a lot like Krystal, but like her companion, the difference was in her fur and eyes. Her fur was a venomous shade of purple, where Krystal's fur was a deep shade of blue. Her eyes were also a frightening shade of yellow (think of the eyes of the Heartless when you think of their shade of yellow).

Concentrating on the spirit, they sent a wave of dark energy into the Krazoa Spirit. It writhed in pain for a moment, before it stopped, turned black, and finally turned back to its normal shade. Taking it with them, they brought it to the place where they were supposed to release the spirit. The spirit floated into the carving that resembled its face, before the carving's mouth opened and shot out a beam.

"Excellent work. Fake. Kursed," came a voice from behind them. Turning around, the two of them who had been referred to as Fake (the fox) and Kursed (the vixen) grinned evilly when the saw their master, who turned out to be none other than Xeno Lumino. "Now, you know what to do," Xeno said, as he sent a quick wave of energy, which changed the two of them so that their fur and eyes changed to make them look like exact copies of Fox and Krystal. Grinning evilly again, they immediately jumped into the beam, encasing themselves in the large crystal, which floated up to the top of Krazoa Palace. "Now then, let us begin," Xeno said, with his usual insane grin on his face. He snapped his fingers, and changed his appearance. His face turned into that of a Krazoa, and his body became old and hunched in appearance. His armor became blue priest robes, and a staff appeared in his hand, which he used a support for his, now frail looking body. He then teleported up to the top of the Palace. Looking up to the statue of the Krazoa god, he grinned, knowing just who the head really was, before turning to the seemingly trapped Fake and Kursed. He grinned evilly again when he noticed the looks on their faces, which were feigning helplessness and unconsciousness. "_Oh, yes. This plan is perfect, and now for the fools who will help me carry it out_," he thought, as he sent a small wave of energy into space, setting in motion the next phase of his plan.

Authors note:

Finally *pant* done *pant*. Longest chapter I've ever written (25 pages). Hope you enjoyed it. Please read and review, because I'd like more reviews.

P.S.

G.E.N.E. challenge is over


	6. First Steps

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox or any other series elements featured in this fanfic. Only the story line and the OCs.

Chapter 5: First Steps

The seven Arwings flew down and landed in a clearing on Thorn Tail Hollow (around the same spot that Fox landed his Arwing the first time). "Alright. Here we are," Marcus said, as he jumped out of his Arwing. "Nice place. You gotta just love all this greenery," Kobayashi commented when he saw the surroundings. He really liked any place that was filled with trees or any other aspect of nature. That was also why he had chosen an attire that looked like he was trekking through a forest, with his clothes being a light and durable pair of green and grey shirt and pants. He had picked out those clothes along with Wanko, who had decided to wear a light red safari outfit, complete with a tan safari hat, and his usual headband. After all of them had gotten out of their ships, and out on the ground, Neo called for them to gather around. "Before we begin, Krystal, could you please focus on your knowledge of Saurian language," Neo said. "Pardon me?" Krystal asked, surprised at the request. "Just do it," Neo said with a sigh. Krystal just nodded, despite her uncertainty, but decided to comply. Neo snapped his fingers, and a silver mist floated out of Krystal's head. He snapped his fingers again, and the mist seemed to split apart into a total of 7 duplicates, which floated into each of their heads. "Can you all understand me?" Neo asked, now using Saurian language. "Yeah, but how did you do that?" Marcus asked surprised, since he had never seen Neo do that. "Something I copied recently," Neo stated flatly, before switching the subject, but not before he heard Fox's dry comment "Definitely beats a translator," which Neo shot him an annoyed look for. "Now then, Fox, what's our best move next?" he asked, before Nia cut in. "Dad, I've tried sensing around the area, but the magic on this planet is interfering with my mind sight. But even then, I sensed some weakening life force coming from nearby," she said, indicating that whatever she had sensed wasn't too far away.

They all headed toward the direction Nia had pointed, and came to the entrance (a rather fancy entrance) of a cave, that looked like it could double as a house (The one where the Queen Earth Walker was found). "Okay, so how do we get in?" Wanko asked when he noticed that the entrance was closed and that there was no handle on the door. Almost as though to answer him, the door slid open, but what came out wasn't what they had hoped. "Sharp Claws," Fox said, remembering the dinosaurs he had faced on his first mission on Sauria. In total, there were seven Sharp Claws, one for each of them. "Seven of us and seven of them? I was expecting them to try to at least out number us," Nia said, a little bit surprised that they weren't outnumbered.

The seven Sharp Claws immediately went for the seven of them, each intending to take one out. Marcus easily avoided the Sharp Claw that went after him. After a few unsuccessful tries, the Sharp Claw got impatient, and carelessly swung its club at Marcus, only for Marcus to take advantage, and effortlessly grab the club, before using it to hit the sharp claw several times with its own club, which was still in its hand, before deciding to finish the brawl. "It's over! Raikouken!" he called out, as he drew his sword, which sparked to life with blue electricity, before he struck the sharp claw with it, electrocuting it with intense lightning. The energy surged through the Sharp Claw, before he quickly fell down, and was clearly down for the count. Nia was busy dealing with her assailant, or rather, it looked like she was dancing around the Sharp Claw, and oddly enough, she almost looked as though she was in some sort of serene light, as she had a calm look on her face. After a moment, she turned toward her opponent, before saying in a gentle voice, "Now sleep. Dreamscape," before she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, and moved at an incredible speed around her opponent, before stopping behind the sharp claw. For a moment, it looked like she never even drew her sword, but proved otherwise when the Sharp Claw fell down as sword marks appeared all over him. Wanko had a big smirk on his face, as he easily swatted his opponents club away using the metal rod he had just made out of a towel. "Maybe you should think before you act! E-Magnum!" he called out, before he fired a bullet, which hit the ground right under the Sharp Claw's feet. Looking down, the Sharp Claw laughed, thinking that the bullet had missed him, only for the bullet to suddenly glow, before igniting in a jet of flame, leaving the Sharp Claw slightly charred, before it fell down as Wanko merely blew the smoke from his gun. Kobayashi back flipped away, as his opponent tried to catch him with a swing of its club. Having missed its target, the Sharp Claw tried again, but this time Kobayashi was ready. "The two star sacred weapon! Fudo!" Kobayashi called out, causing a large arm made out of wood, with a steel guard to appear, causing the Sharp Claw to break its club against it. "My turn! Frozen Root!" Kobayashi called out, before unleashing a blast of freezing wind, freezing his opponent solid. Fox and Krystal had already pushed their individual opponents against each other. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Fox asked, as he readied his sword. "I am. Let's get them, Fox," Krystal said, as she readied her staff. "Spirit of Wind, hear me! Gale Blast!" Krystal called out, summoning a strong wind, which caught the two Sharp Claws, trapping them in a miniature tornado. "Fox!" Krystal called out, as Fox immediately jumped forward. "Right! Solar Storm! Sky Blazer!" Fox called out, as his sword ignited with fire, before unleashing a storm of fire at the trapped Sharp Claws. "Gale Blazer!" Fox and Krystal called out in unison as their individual attacks combined, becoming a tornado of fire, which left the Sharp Claws charred and out of the fight. Neo calmly dodged the attacks from his opponent. He merely stepped back a step to avoid each strike, quickly tiring the Sharp Claw out. "Sorry, but I'm done messing around. Photon Blast," Neo said calmly, shooting a quick blast of light from his hand, easily defeating the tired Sharp Claw.

"That was easy," Nia commented, as they walked away from their defeated opponents. "Yeah. Too easy if you ask me," Krystal said, as she didn't think it should have been that easy. "Last time I fought these guys, they usually disappeared after I beat them, but they didn't this time," Fox said, a bit surprised at the difference. "You'd think with Xeno involved, we'd have to fight a few heartless, or maybe some other monster," Kobayashi said, not noticing the Sharp Claws getting up, though the way they moved resembled a broken doll being pulled up by its strings. "Ummm...Kobayashi..." Marcus said, pointing toward behind his team mate, prompting Kobayashi to turn around, just as the previously defeated Sharp Claws were engulfed in darkness and turned into seven medium sized heartless, which all looked like raptors. "You just had to say it, didn't you?" Wanko asked rhetorically, as they prepared for round two.

"*sigh* we really don't have time for this. Unlimited," Neo said, summoning his keyblade. Neo disappeared for a moment, before reappearing behind the seven heartless, and the seven of them burst apart, as they released the hearts trapped within them. "That's that, now...How do we get in, aside from smashing the door?" Neo asked, when he noticed that the door the Sharp Claws had come from had closed. Fox looked up toward the top of the door, before smirking slightly. He quickly drew his sword, before firing a small fireball, which hit the symbol that had appeared on the top of the door. The door flew open, just as the symbol turned green. "That's how," Fox said, sheathing his sword.

Walking in, they were greeted by the sight of two elderly Earth Walkers on the ground. "These guys are...," Fox started, surprised at the sight. "The (former) King and Queen Earth Walker," Krystal finished just as surprised, as they quickly approached the two of them. "Are both of you alright? What happened?" Fox asked them. "Please, help. He captured our son, and our grandson. We don't know where Tricky is, but they've taken our grandson, prince Topsy, to Ice Mountain. Please save him," they pleaded. "Alright, we'll do it. Come on, let's get going," Fox said. "Wait," Neo suddenly said. "What is it, Neo?" Fox asked. "Is it really a good idea to leave them alone? What happens if Sharp Claws, or worse, Heartless, find them?" Neo replied. "Mr. Lumino has a good point there, I think some of us should stay behind," Wanko said, analyzing the situation. "Hm, you got a point there. That reminds me, the first time I was here, I had to collect 6 white grub tubs for the Queen when she had been injured, and since there are both of them now, we'll need to collect 12 white grub tubs to heal the King and Queen," Fox replied. "That means we'll have to split into 3 teams then. One team to find the prince, one team to find white grub tubs, and one team to guard the King and Queen," Nia said. "Right," Marcus said, before asking, "Hey dad, do you still remember the layout of Ice Mountain?" Marcus asked. "More or less. I'm sure I'd remember if I was there," Fox replied. "Okay. Do you still remember where we can find white grub tubs?" Marcus asked again. "Yeah. They're in the well not too far from here," Fox replied, pointing toward the direction of the well. "Alright then, since we know where to go, now we just have to decide the team members," Neo said. "Well, I can keep watch here. I'll blow away any Sharp Claw or Heartless that tries coming here," Kobayashi said, volunteering himself to guard the (former) King and Queen Earth Walker. "If we're going down a well, I'll light the way," Nia said, volunteering herself to find white grub tubs.

"Alright, we have volunteers for two teams, but I don't think they should do this alone," Neo said. "In that case, I'll go with Nia to find those grub tubs," Marcus immediately said, volunteering himself to go with Nia. "And I'll stay here with Kobayashi," Wanko said. "Alright then, I guess that leaves the three of us to go to Ice Mountain," Fox said, referring to Krystal and Neo. Just then, Krystal looked toward the (former) King and Queen Earth Walker, and noticed that they seemed even weaker than before. "Actually, I think I should stay here," Krystal said, motioning toward the two injured Earth Walkers. Looking toward them, Fox and Neo both nodded. "Your right. If we leave them be, they might not survive," Neo said. "Yes. That's why it might be better if I stayed here, so I might at least be able to keep them alive until Nia and Marcus can get the white grub tubs," Krystal replied. "Alright, we'll leave to you Krys," Fox said. All seven of them looked at each other, before nodding. "Alright everyone. We don't have much time, so let's go," Marcus said to his team. "Ryokai," they all replied, before immediately heading off toward their destinations.

-Starfox X-

Author's Note:

Done. Chapter 5 of Starfox X. So here are the list of teams for the next chapter:

Rescue team (Find Prince Topsy): Fox and Neo

Retrieval team (Find 12 white grub tubs): Marcus and Nia

Guard team (Protect the (former) King and Queen Earth Walker): Kobayashi, Wanko, and Krystal.


End file.
